The Second Mew War
by tgwWhale
Summary: The Sailor Senshi and the Mew Mews have somehow survived their first conflict.  But that was before the Senshi of the Outer Planets and the bratty Chibi-usa made their appearance!  Sequel to "The Mew War."
1. Chapter 1

_**** Yo, people! "Traffic Stats" tell me that some people have actually looked at these stories of mine! A review is nice. Anyway...  
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_This story is set immediately following its precursor, "The Mew War." So the time is within the year after the last Sailor Moon animated series. Thus Sailor Moon and her companions are about 16 years old. The Mew Mews are about a year younger than Sailor Moon, except that Mew Pudding is about five years younger than the others, and Mew Zakuro is about five years older.  
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_This story is a sequel to "The Mew War." It makes no sense standing by itself. If you want to read this story, I strongly recommend that you read "The Mew War" first.  
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_You may notice that often the conversation in these stories is somewhat stilted. The reason is that I imagine this story to be an anime cartoon, and the characters are speaking Japanese, and I am reading English fansubs. And the conversation in English fansubs of Japanese animes is often rather stilted and strangely formal. So that is the way the characters speak.  
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_A warning: if you read this story to the end, you might be disappointed - it is quite "dark." Just to warn you all..._

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Sailor Moon and the Sailor Senshi

in

The Second Mew War

Usagi shivered. It was still summer, and the sun still shone. But she felt cold - cold, because she was afraid.

She should not have been afraid. She had won her war. The leader of the Mew Mews, Momomiya Ichigo, had knelt before her, and had pledged herself and the rest of the Mew Mews to her service. Once again, as she always had, she had won. There was no danger to her now. No one would attack her. But she was afraid.

She stood at the base of the steps up to the shrine, the shrine where Hino Rei served as Shrine Maiden. That should not have frightened her. She had spent countless hours here before, especially when they were studying for their high school entrance exams. Now THAT was something that was frightening; but Usagi had passed, and was in high school. But she was afraid now, more afraid than she had ever been before anything like an exam.

She was afraid that Rei still hated her.

Usagi was Sailor Moon, the top Magical Girl in Japan - that was true. She had defeated every enemy, from Queen Beryl up through the Mew Mews. But that was not the part of her that was most important to her. What mattered most to her was that she was everybody's friend. She could make friends with anyone, even when no one else could make such friends. She remembered Kino Makoto. Makoto was a lonely orphan, and poor. And she was too big, and had no social graces, and she was always getting into fights. She transferred into Usagi's school back during junior high when she got expelled from her old school for fighting. The others had shunned her, in loathing, or fear, or both; but Usagi had befriended her, and now Makoto was the most faithful of her friends, and of her Senshi, for she was now the mighty Sailor Jupiter. Usagi was everyone's friend.

Rei had been a true friend of hers, maybe the best she ever had, though all they had ever done was fight. But now Rei had turned on her, and had abandoned her when she had been defeated in that first fight with Mew Ichigo. There was always mystery about Rei. Usagi could not read her heart like she read the hearts of others, and she feared to face that heart now. For if Rei still hated her, then that defeat would wound her heart more than her defeat at the hands of Mew Ichigo.

But Usagi steeled her heart, and though she climbed those steps slowly, she kept climbing to the top. She walked down the path to approach the shrine, and then she saw her: Hino Rei, Sailor Mars. She was dressed as a shrine maiden, with that bulky red skirt and white top: so much more modest than the white short-shorts and red halter that Usagi wore. Rei was sweeping the path clean, as Shrine Maidens seemed to do so often. Usagi stopped, and swallowed, and steeled herself, and approached the dark-haired, mystical, mysterious girl.

Rei saw her coming and stopped sweeping with her broom, though her eyes swept over Usagi. What did Usagi see in those eyes? Not friendship, certainly, though not hatred, either. It was more like contempt. But that was Rei; she always held herself to be at least a bit better than Usagi.

And Rei spoke, formally: "Welcome to Hikawa Shrine."

And Usagi stopped. There was no friendship in those words. Rei was acting as if they had never met. She stammered, unable to speak.

So Rei spoke, again: "Is there something that you want?"

The words stung Usagi. Outright anger would have hurt less than this. Yet she had to do this, for she was the Moon Princess, and Rei was one of her guardian Senshi. So she swallowed hard, and said, "Rei, Rei-chan, can't you come back? We won the war, and Mew Ichigo knelt to me and abased herself. She has accepted me as Princess..."

Rei raised her hand, and Usagi stopped speaking. This was rare; almost no one could get Usagi to ever shut up. But she was so afraid, now. And then Rei said, "I know the story. Ami told me. And forget that _-chan_ stuff. You are not dear to me." Rei walked up to Usagi, and her dark eyes stared into Usagi's blue ones. "You didn't win the war, not really. The cat-girl gave in to end the fighting, not because you defeated her. Once again she proved herself the better woman than you."

But Usagi said, as tears began flowing: "Rei-chan, you are dear to _me_. You are one of the Senshi. You must come back, or the Senshi will be incomplete. We need you to protect the world."

Rei just shook her head. "You are not worthy of the title of Princess. I will never serve you."

But Usagi begged, through her tears, "Then don't serve me! Just be my friend!"

But Rei said, "No, never again. And be sure of this: I _will_ win Mamoru's heart." Usagi gasped, and Rei smirked. "As I said, you are not worthy to be Princess. Those that still serve you are fools."

She turned away, and spoke one more time, quietly, looking at the bare ground at her feet: "And I am not worthy to be Senshi, after what I did that day, down by that pond." She walked away.

"Rei!" Usagi wailed, but the dark-haired girl did not turn back. Usagi fell to her knees, and wept, the tears streaming down. Rei disappeared into the shrine; and Usagi did not see that tears dripped down her cheeks, also.

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Once again Usagi hesitated, this time with her finger over a doorbell button. Inside she could hear singing, and she knew the voice: Aino Minako sang to a karaoke machine. Minako had always dreamed of being a singer, and an idol. She kept practicing, but she never seemed to be able to get the break she needed. She should get that break, Usagi thought. She was talented, and she tried so hard. She was good at so many things: she was so good-looking, and so popular. She had been the original Sailor Senshi: before even Usagi became Sailor Moon, she had fought evil as Sailor V, now Sailor Venus.

But like Rei, she hated Usagi.

But Usagi forced herself to ring the bell. There was no answer, but the music was loud, so Usagi rang it again, and again. Then the music stopped, and finally, the door opened.

Usagi forced a smile. "Mina-chan!" she said, and she reached out her hands.

But Minako did not respond. Her blue eyes swept over Usagi, as Rei's dark eyes had done. But she did not invite Usagi in. "What do you want?" she said, in a bored tone.

Usagi gulped, hard. It was not like Minako to show bad manners and not invite her in. Usagi could barely mutter, "Minako, please come back! We won the war, you know, and Mew Ichigo knelt..."

"I know, I know," Minako said. "Rei called me." Then there was more awkward silence, and then Minako said, "No, Sailor Moon. You were a complete fool to get into that fight with that cat-eared freak, and you were a complete loser to let her beat you. I have no respect left for you."

But Usagi whispered, "No! You must come back! The Senshi need you!"

And Minako said, "Look, I've seen too much fighting. I've done that Senshi thing for too long. It's time for me to grow up and pursue a real career."

Growing up was something that Usagi never really considered much, other than the thought that one day she would marry Mamoru. Still, being Sailor Senshi was not childish. They had saved the world five times! So she begged, "We need you!"

But Minako said, "You have failed as Princess, and I failed as Senshi. It's time for us both to move on." And she closed the door.

Usagi stood there in the dim hallway, and wept. Yes, she had failed as Princess - once again.

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It was getting late when Usagi finally made it back to her home. She could have taken the bus, or the train. But there would be people on those, and she did not want them to watch her weep. And walking home meant being alone, alone for several hours, and she wanted that very badly. Over and over again in her mind she went over all she had said, all she had done, and every plan she could imagine to get her Senshi back. But it was all useless. She had thought that once the Mew Mews knelt before her, then her friends would come back. She thought that being a winner again would be all that it would take. But Rei and Minako still hated her. They hated Usagi, and they hated themselves. Usagi was no genius but she understood that last part. Rei and Minako had come within half a breath of murdering Mew Ichigo, and the guilt and shame they felt were more than they could bear.

It was surely after supper time by the time she opened the front door of her home. Her mother would have something for her, she knew, but though she loved to eat, she would not eat this night. She needed to crawl up into her room and lock the door and cry all night alone. Even if Mamoru would come, she would not come down, she thought; then she shook her head. She could not resist Mamoru if he came. But she would not call him.

She stepped in, and her mother appeared from the kitchen. "Usagi, there's someone here to see you!" she said, smiling.

Usagi started. Who could that be? Was Mamoru here, or had Rei come, or Minako? For a second hope sprang up in her heart - but only for a second. She had thought that nothing could make this day worse than it was, but she was wrong.

For a pink-haired child bounded into the room, and she stopped before Usagi, and spoke arrogantly: "_Baka_ Usagi! You've messed things up again, and I've come to set them right."

It was Chibi-usa, Usagi's daughter from the future, time-traveling again. In the future, maybe, Usagi would be a good mother, but she was too young to handle it now. And Chibi-usa was always far too friendly towards Mamoru. Mamoru was her father, or would be in the future, but in this period of time Chibi-usa always tried to monopolize his time, to keep Usagi away from him, and to make a fool of Usagi whenever he was around. The rest of the family had been convinced, by some rather nasty magic done by Sailor Pluto, that Chibi-usa was Usagi's cousin; but Usagi knew the truth. And the last thing she needed on this awful day was to see the little pink-haired brat.

And Usagi's father stuck his head in, and said, "Usagi, your mother and I are visiting some friends this evening, and we won't be back until it's late. I'm sure that you can take care of Chibi-usa." Then he disappeared, and in a few seconds they heard the door close as Usagi's parents left.

Chibi-usa looked over Usagi with contempt, and spoke: "Been putting on weight, I see! Well, that's to be expected for an old hag that eats junk food like a starving pig."

Usagi's anger exploded. "You loud-mouthed little brat!" she screamed, and she chased after Chibi-usa, who fled the room and ran up the stairs. Usagi pursued her, but Chibi-usa hid in the bathroom, and Usagi raced by the door, allowing the younger girl to flee back down the stairs. It was here that Usagi cornered her in the front room of the house, and closed in. "You won't sit for a week, after I'm done spanking your fat butt!" Usagi growled, and she seized the pink-haired child and threw her over her knee.

But after just one slap, the doorbell rang, and the door opened, and Chiba Mamoru stepped in: Usagi's beloved, the Prince of Earth as Usagi was Princess of the Moon, her future husband, and the future father of Chibi-usa. His eyes grew wide as he heard the screams of Chibi-usa and saw the wild-eyed rage in Usagi.

"Child abuse! Child abuse!" the pink-haired child was screeching. And Mamoru responded. He quickly stepped over and took Usagi's arm with his hand, and ended the spanking.

Usagi's huge eyes could hide nothing from anyone, and certainly not from her beloved Mamoru. He could see all the anger, all the hurt, and all the grief in her eyes, and he instantly knew that there was a lot more involved with this spanking than Chibi-usa's sassy mouth and Usagi's lack of patience. So he did not at all raise his voice, but just spoke as soothingly as he could. "Cool it, my love."

Chibi-usa now escaped Usagi's grip and ran to the kitchen door. "Come with me, Mamoru! I gotta show you something!" She smiled flirtatiously, less to attract Mamoru than to get farther under Usagi's skin. But Usagi could do nothing to her, since Mamoru still held her arm. And Mamoru said quietly to Usagi, "Yes, my love, she's doing it again, and the older she gets, the more ugly it becomes. But right now, you have to calm down. You were out of control, you could have hurt her. Wait just a few minutes to cool down, and then come in to wherever she's taking me." He brushed her tear-wet cheek with his left hand, and then released her with his right. And he whispered, "Yes, my love, our daughter is a brat-and-a-half. But right now you're behaving as badly as she is." And he left Usagi there and disappeared through the kitchen door.

Usagi was devastated. She could not endure being lectured by Mamoru. Yes, he was older than she was; he was, by most ways of looking at things, still too old for her. But she loved him as a woman to a man, not as a child to a parent, and she wanted him to treat her as an equal, not as a child who needed to be lectured. There was a sofa there in the front room, and Usagi sat heavily upon it, and buried her face in her hands. This had been a truly horrible day, painful beyond belief.

And then the doorbell rang again. It seemed impossible, but Usagi's horrible day was about to become a whole lot worse.

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Usagi didn't want to face anyone, not then. But she was Japanese, and social graces were considered so important. And besides that, maybe it just could be Rei or Minako, coming back to her. Maybe her words and her tears had touched one or the other, and Usagi could not afford to let one of them come and not find her. So she rose from the sofa, wiped the tears from her eyes, and opened the door.

It was neither Rei nor Minako. Two people stood there. One was a dark-haired young man, of Usagi's age or a little younger, all neat and handsome and strong. He supported with his arms a girl of about the same age, a girl with red hair and violet-gray eyes. That girl had been crying; her cheeks were wet and streaked, and her eye make-up was all but destroyed. She looked with desperate sadness at Usagi.

Then the boy spoke: "May we come in?"

Usagi wanted to say no. The girl was her most recent enemy, Momomiya Ichigo, the leader of the Sailor Senshi's most recent rivals, the Mew Mews. She was a magical girl, and powerful; she had fought Usagi when the Mew War began, and crushed her. At the end, of course, she had abased herself before Usagi and surrendered, accepting Usagi as her Princess. And after that last confrontation, Usagi had got to know her a little bit, and had actually begun to admire her. But Usagi was in too much pain to face her now...

But protocol demanded that Usagi let them in, so she said, "Yes, please, come in." And they made their way to the sofa and sat upon it, the girl leaning on the guy's shoulder.

"Something's wrong," Usagi said. "I can see that. But I've had a really bad day, too." She sat on the sofa, next to the redhead.

Ichigo looked sadly at Usagi. "We're in trouble, Sailor..." her voice cut off, and she asked, "Are your parents here?"

Usagi said, "No," and before she could say more, Ichigo continued, "We're in trouble, Sailor Moon. The Mew Mews, they... they..." She choked on her tears. Then she stared straight into Usagi's huge blue eyes. "They threw me out."

"What?" Usagi demanded. "How could they do that? Weren't you the leader?"

"Well, sort of, I was," Ichigo half-whispered. "But not like you. You're a Princess, you lead by right. I was just the first to join the Mew Mews, and I have the most powerful attacks, so they followed me. But now they've thrown me out."

"What happened?" Usagi asked. One of the few things that could bring Usagi out of one of her self-pitying crying jags was her natural empathy toward others. It was one of those qualities that made her everyone's friend.

"I got to work late today, almost an hour late. I was with Aoyama-kun," the red-haired girl said, and looked at the boy. Then she went on, "When I got to the cafe, the others were all lined up, and they were mad. Well, they're often mad when I'm late, but not like that. Well, Zakuro..." - that was Mew Zakuro, part-time magical girl and part-time famous model, actress, and idol - "Zakuro called me aside for a private talk. She told me that they had met, and... they decided that I didn't have the right to pledge them to your service. I couldn't speak for them. They said that I was 'way out of line, that I had become far too self-important. They didn't want me around any more. They voted - they voted to expel me from the Mew Mews."

Usagi reached out and touched the arm of the weeping, gasping girl. Not long before they had been fighting to the finish, and all Usagi could feel for her was hatred. Now all she could feel for her was pity.

"I've lost everything!" the red-haired girl gasped. My job, my role as a magical girl superhero - and all my best friends in the world. All I've got left is Aoyama-kun." She clung to the boy more tightly.

Usagi reached up and brushed a tear from the girl's cheek. "Did they all turn on you? Did they all vote against you?"

Ichigo stared at the floor. "Zakuro - that bitch - she said that the vote was three to one against me. I'm sure that Mint voted against me - she never liked me much - and Pudding would follow whatever Mint said. And I'm sure that Lettuce would never turn on me. So that means that Zakuro betrayed me. I never thought she would."

Usagi thought silently for a moment. She, too, had known betrayal by her friends. Then she said, "I suppose that Zakuro is now the leader of the Mew Mews. Maybe that's why she voted the way she did."

But Aoyama said, "No. They're bringing Mew Berry back to lead them."

"And who's that?" Usagi asked.

Aoyama continued, "After the Mew Mews defeated the aliens, Ichigo went out of the country for a short while. While she was gone, a new blonde girl was accidentally transformed into a Mew Mew - her name was Shirayuki Berry. It seems that she got DNA from more than one animal, and maybe that's why as soon as she joined, she became the leader. Mostly she seems to be rabbit - she's got rabbit ears." The young man shook his head. "Those ridiculous ears..."

Aoyama allowed himself a tiny bit of a smile before he continued, "Well, there were some bad guys around, something called the Saint Rose Crusaders. Nothing all that bad, but when Ichigo came back, she helped defeat them. Then after that, there was a big clash over who would lead the Mew Mews. My Ichigo, she's got a bit of a pride problem, you know, and she didn't want this Berry to lead. And Berry's got the same problem. Really, I think Ichigo's a whole lot better than Berry, and prettier, too - but then I'm a bit biased there. Anyway, for a while it looked as if the two rivals would fight. So eventually the Mew Mews voted, and the vote was tied, two to two. So the guys down there - Keiichiro and Ryou - they settled it, and chose Ichigo. Berry wouldn't follow Ichigo, so she left. But she's around, and they are going to bring her back."

Usagi thought silently for a while. Some of her own Senshi had turned on her, but they could not expel her - she was Moon Princess by right of birth. She could see how Ichigo had been so hurt by her friends' rejection of her. Still, she had her boy friend. Usagi asked, "Are you still magical? Can you transform?"

Ichigo turned her sad eyes on Usagi. "I turned in my waitress uniform, and my pendant, too. But Keiichiro said that no one else could ever use the pendant, because it was bound to my DNA, and to my soul. And he said that I might need it, to protect myself or my family if the aliens came back, or anyone else came after me. So I guess I'm still magical, but I'm not a Mew Mew any more." The tears began flowing once again.

And then Usagi asked, "You tell a very sad tale. But why tell it to me? Do you think that I can make them take you back, or something?"

Ichigo shook her head. "No. You couldn't, and if you tried, there might be more fighting. I just wanted to tell you to be careful. They rejected me, and they rejected the deal I made with you. They might start fighting you again. I thought that I should tell you, so you can play it safe..."

"Play it safe?" Usagi barked, her great eyes blazing. "I'm not the one who needs to play it safe. If those little kitties think they could beat me, I'll squash them like the bugs they are! I'll..." Then her eyes dropped, and she looked at the floor and lowered her voice. "Damn, there I go again. You know, Mew Ichigo, you can really bring out that stupid pride in me."

"I'm not Mew Ichigo any more," the red-haired girl said.

"To me, you are, and you always will be, and I'm Princess, so that's that!" Usagi said. And she embraced the sobbing girl. "Don't worry, my friend, I'll make sure that fighting does not break out again between my girls and the Mew Mews."

Then things grew silent, and Aoyama said, "I have to get her home now. Thank you so much for listening, and for committing yourself to keeping the peace." He helped Ichigo to the door, his arm around her waist.

But before they left, Usagi came up to say good-by; and Ichigo reached out and touched her cheek, and whispered, "Thank you, my friend." Then they went out into the night.

And just inside the kitchen door, Mamoru and Chibi-usa looked at each other, and sighed; and the pink-haired girl said, "Usagi is such a weakling."

But Mamoru, his eyes far away, only whispered softly: "That is why I love her so."


	2. Chapter 2

It was two weeks later, on a Thursday. The summer was approaching its end, but the weather was still fine. Mew Zakuro had slipped out of the Cafe Mew Mew for a quick breath of fresh air. The sun was a bit lower now, and the light was a bit softer than it had been during the high summer. But the air was still soft and warm. It caressed her ever so gently, and she did not want to go back in and return to work.

And things were going so well, now. Things always went better with Berry instead of Ichigo as leader, and not only because Berry actually showed up on time. Berry lacked Ichigo's moods. She was so sweet that she could even get along with Mint. And it didn't seem to bother her that Mint only pretended to work, and even pretended only occasionally. Berry just smiled and got along with everyone.

And yet, Zakuro was uneasy. She missed Ichigo. Berry might be eternally nice, but she lacked the high nobility of Ichigo. And if there were enemies to face, Zakuro would greatly prefer to fight beside Ichigo, with her strength and her courage, than beside Berry. Ichigo had defeated Deep Blue and saved the world; Berry had done nothing of the sort. And Zakuro knew Ichigo so much more deeply. She didn't really know Berry - no one did. Zakuro knew that no one could be as nice as Berry seemed to be, but what was really behind those shining eyes and that too-sweet smile? Zakuro did not know, and was not sure that she wanted to find out.

But time was passing. Zakuro sighed, then shook out her long, dark hair, and passed through the door back into the cafe.

It looked inside as if someone had just kicked over an anthill. The other Mew Mews were running about, dumping their waitress loads as quickly as they could and then running for the back. Ryou was standing at the kitchen entrance with a huge, worried frown on his face, and the other girls were hurrying past him. Big trouble, Zakuro thought. She guessed that Ichigo was back, and with quite a bit less than friendship on her mind. The others had not worried that when they expelled Ichigo, they might have been making themselves a deadly enemy. But Zakuro had worried then, and she was more worried now. It was not her style to hurry, but she hurried into the kitchen following the other girls.

As soon as she had entered, Ryou shut the door behind them. Keiichiro was already there, looking at least as worried as the others. Big trouble, thought Zakuro, and worse yet than that.

It was Ryou that spoke first. "Ladies, we've detected a major outburst of magical energy, and it's close."

"What is it?" Lettuce asked. "Are the aliens back?"

"Or maybe a chimera anima?" Mint added.

"It doesn't matter. We'll smash 'em!" little Pudding chimed in. The possibility of defeat never seemed to register with Pudding.

But Keiichiro said, "No. The magic doesn't belong to the aliens, nor to a chimera anima. It's a very different signature."

Then Zakuro spoke, harshly. "Is it Ichigo?"

They were all silent, and they stared at her. Then Mew Berry said, "Is she like that? Would she come after us? Is she that driven by revenge? Is she?"

There was more silence, and then Lettuce muttered, "No! Ichigo wouldn't..."

And Keiichiro said, shaking his head, "I wish it was Ichigo. She might dream of revenge, but I can't really imagine her coming after us. But no - it's not Ichigo. We know her magical signature better than anyone else's. It's not her."

"So it's not one of us," Zakuro said, sighing with relief. "What can we tell from the signature?"

Ryou now spoke. "It seems to be several magical entities, and their signatures are strong. _Very _strong. We don't know for sure if they're hostile, and we don't know if they have anything to do with us. But it would be an odd chance for a group of magical creatures to suddenly appear so close to us, if they were not hostile toward us."

Mew Berry, trying to assert her leadership, then spoke. "So, what do we do? Attack?"

Keiichiro shook his head. "Like Ryou said, we don't know if they're hostile. You'll have to go out there, and check them out. Don't start anything, though, until we know what they are, and what they want. The last war you fought should never have been, and you were lucky to get out of that one alive. And you had Ichigo, then. Find out who they are, and what they're here for, but play it safe. They might be powerful enough to swat you like so many flies. Don't fight unless you have to. Ryou, you follow them, and get all the data you can. I'll close the place down and get the customers out before they get caught in a crossfire."

Zakuro was shaking her head, and she muttered, "I wish we had Ichigo."

And Berry shot a glance of anger at her, which earned her a responding angry glance from Mint. Ryou saw it all, and thought: things were not as peaceful without Ichigo as he had thought. But he kept that thought to himself, and just shouted, "Tokyo Mew Mew! Go!"

The girls piled out the back door at full speed, heading for the location that the computer had indicated. There was a park there, where Ichigo had first been made a Mew Mew, so long ago when the Mews' story began. They raced into the park, transforming as they went.

They did not have to go far. Right where the computer had shown magical energy, they emerged into an open glade, and there they saw two figures, two girls - one with long blonde hair, the other with long black hair. They wore abbreviated sailor uniforms - they were Sailor Senshi! They stood there with their arms crossed, seemingly confident - and hostile. Mew Berry did not recognize them, but the rest of the Mew Mews did: Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars.

The Mew Mews stopped, and Mew Berry stepped out in front of them. She raised her Loveberry Rod and spoke with pride: "Name yourselves! What are you doing here?"

Sailors Mars and Venus advanced on the Mew Mews, their pace a slow, measured strut. Each of them beamed with total confidence. Sailor Venus spoke first: "Hi, little bunny," chuckling a little at Berry's rabbit ears. "Gee, we've had more than enough experience with rabbits, haven't we?"

And Sailor Mars added, "Yeah. Rabbit - U-sa-gi! Rabbit."

Mew Berry gritted her teeth. She seemed perfect, but did not take teasing well. Mew Zakuro saw what was happening, so she spoke, with a low but very hard voice: "Sailor Senshi, you could have just walked in the front door of the cafe, if you wanted to see us. What are you two up to? Why did you lure us out here? I know what I would guess - but is that what you really want?"

Sailor Mars stepped forward and pointed her finger at the Mew Mews. "When you expelled that fool Momomiya Ichigo, you broke your deal with us. The rest of you have not knelt to us."

Mew Berry also stepped forward, facing the taller, more mature, and stunningly attractive Sailor Mars. "Ichigo had no right to bind the Mew Mews to the service of your idiot Princess, nor to you. The Mew Mews won that war! You should kneel to us!"

Fire blazed in Sailor Mars's eyes. "You dare speak that way to us? You have no clue what you're getting into!"

And Mew Berry said, "You think you're so great? Then - _bring it on!"_

"NO!" Zakuro screamed. This whole situation was as ready-made an ambush as ever could be, but wild-eyed Mew Berry didn't notice. The two Senshi were already spinning in the air, making their first attacks, and Berry was spinning as well. Mew Mint was lifting off. She could fly and was going airborne. And Zakuro dove to her left, for cover.

The others didn't have a chance. Lettuce and Pudding were barely beginning their spins when the first attacks came: "Burning Mandala!" "Love-Me Chain!" To these were opposed Berry's single attack, "Ribbon Loveberry Check!" Mew Berry was good, and if the others had gotten into their attacks, perhaps they could have defeated Mars and Venus. But before the two Mews could finish their chants, they all heard three other voices: "Earth Shaking!" "Deep Submerge!" Death Scream!" And three massive magical attacks raced toward the Mew Mews.

Zakuro was ready. She had seen the ambush coming, and she did what she could to fight it. "Ribbon Zakuro Spear!" she screamed, and her magical whip lashed the deadly projectile that tore along the ground at her friends. When the whip hit it, it exploded, hurling Zakuro to the ground. But at least it didn't hit the other Mew Mews. But nothing protected them from the other attacks, and Berry, Lettuce, and Pudding were blasted down. One attack - a water-based one - seemed particularly powerful.

Zakuro got up. She could see three - no, four - more Sailor Senshi, besides Mars and Venus. At least four. And they were attacking again! The wolf-girl seized Mew Lettuce by the shoulder and dragged her up. "Get out of here!" she screamed. "Save the others if you can! I'll guard the rear!"

But Lettuce screamed, "No! Not this time! I'm the water-girl, I can take those water attacks better than the rest of you. And they need your healing! This time you save them, and I'll be the hero! Go!"

Zakuro knew it was no time to argue. Mint was airborne; maybe she could escape. Zakuro grabbed Berry's arm with one hand, and Pudding's with the other, and dragged the fallen girls away. Behind her she heard, "Ribbon... Lettuce Rush!" Lettuce would do her best; she always did. She had no chance to survive, not against the attacks Zakuro had seen. But maybe she would buy them enough time to escape. One magical blast after another rocked the earth behind them, but Zakuro could not afford to care. She dragged the fallen girls farther into the woods, until the blasts grew faint behind them.

Then, all grew still, and Zakuro knew: Lettuce had fallen. Maybe Mint, also. She fell to her knees, and wept.

Then Mew Pudding's little hand shook her shoulder, and the young girl said, "Come on, you've got to heal Berry, she's hurt bad..."

Zakuro looked at the little monkey-girl, and shook her head. "No, Pudding," she whispered. "If I heal her, that will release magical energy, and they'll track us down and finish us off. We have to get far away from here." She picked up the fallen Berry, and with Pudding tottering along behind, she led the way through the park to the other side. There was a highway there, and the highway crossed a small stream by a stone bridge. It was late summer and the water was low, and they crept under the bridge beside the water.

Then Zakuro drew out from her top a small glass vial, one that held something that gave a faint blue glow. And her lips moved, though no words could be heard. And her prayers seemed to be answered, for she pressed the little vial against Berry's heart, and a soft glow surrounded both of them, and Berry was healed, and stood up. Then Zakuro did the same for little Pudding, and she was healed also.

Zakuro thought in silence for many seconds. Then she said, "We have to go back to the cafe. We've got to find out what happened to Lettuce and Mint, and to Keiichiro and Ryou, too."

But Berry said, "Our enemies could be waiting for us. They expect us to go there."

Zakuro shook her head. "I know. But we still have to check on the others, no matter what." Then she smiled a little, and said, "And besides, my car is back there." Then she transformed back to her non-magical self, and led the way back through the woods.

It was just after sunset when they once again saw the Cafe Mew Mew. It stood quietly in the twilight, seemingly undamaged. They searched the area around the cafe thoroughly, but found no one. So Zakuro whispered, "I'll go in. If it's safe, I'll stick my head back out the front door and twirl my arm above my head like this. If it isn't safe, either I won't come back out, or I won't twirl my arm. If I come back out but don't twirl the arm, know that they're there and they're making me do it. Get out of here, and get as far away as you can."

Then she left the other two and walked up to the front door of the cafe. It was unlocked, and she entered. A minute later she stepped back out, and twirled her arm around her head. The other two stepped out of the woods, and the three girls entered the door, and closed it behind themselves.

There were Ryou and Keiichiro, and Mint was there, too. All looked sad and grim.

Zakuro spoke, "Any news about Lettuce?"

Mint was the one that answered. "After the battle, I looked. I couldn't find her, nor her body, nor any part of it. Either she was completely annihilated, or they took her body when it was done."

Zakuro said, "Then she's probably alive, or still lived then. Why would they waste time taking the body, if she was dead?"

But Ryou said, "Maybe they just didn't want the police to find a body in the woods - one all torn apart by magic."

"Maybe," Zakuro said. They were all silent for a while after that.

Finally Keiichiro broke the silence. "What should we do now?"

Little Pudding said, "Pudding says, let's get Ichigo."

But Berry said, "No. She's not one of us any more."

Zakuro looked at Berry, and her dark sapphire eyes bored right through their putative leader. And then she spoke with resignation. "Berry's right. We've thrown Ichigo out. She doesn't owe us anything any more. Why should she die with the rest of us? Let the poor girl live in peace."

Ryou said, "You don't have much hope."

Zakuro stared at the floor. "Did you measure the power of those attacks?"

Ryou responded, "I couldn't. They went off the scale."

"That's what I thought," Zakuro said. "Their power is too great for us. We have no real chance to win."

Pudding asked, "Is there anyone who could help us?"

"No one we know, " Ryou said.

Suddenly Mint blurted out, "Damn that Sailor Moon and all her gang! Damn them to hell!"

Zakuro looked at Mint, and then quietly said, "That's interesting, what you said, Mint. Just think. Who wasn't there?" Zakuro rose from her chair. "I'll tell you: _Sailor Moon_ wasn't there. Nobody could mistake her for someone else, not with that ridiculous hair of hers. And something else: the big girl wasn't there, Sailor Jupiter. We faced at least six enemies, and at least two of our old foes were not there."

Mint said, "They told us that there were more Senshi, more powerful ones. I guess that they just didn't need Sailor Moon."

Zakuro shook her head. "Or maybe, Sailor Moon didn't know." She turned and walked to the door. "I'll find out."

"No, Mew Zakuro!" Ryou half-shouted. "Don't throw your life away!"

But Zakuro passed through the door and was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

It was dark when Tsukino Ikuko answered the doorbell. A strange woman stood there, tall and slender for a Japanese, with long, flowing dark hair, and, oddly, dark glasses worn at night. "Can I help you?" Mrs. Tsukino said, with some doubt. She was not used to strangers coming at this hour.

"I believe you can," the stranger said. "Is this where Tsukino Usagi can be found?"

Ikuko frowned. "I wouldn't tell a stranger yes or no, not at this hour. Who are you?"

The strange woman shrugged, and removed the dark glasses and showed her face. Mrs. Tsukino took a step back and her mouth dropped open. She was staring at one of the most famous faces in Japan. "Are you... are you..." she babbled. Then she asked, suddenly, "Are you Fujiwara Zakuro?"

The stranger smiled softly, and said, "Yes, I am, Tsukino-sama. May I come in?"

"Yes, yes, of course, can I get you anything?... What did you want again? And... and can I have your autograph?" Mrs. Tsukino was not used to talking to celebrities.

Zakuro stepped into the house and smiled again. "I was looking for a girl named Tsukino Usagi. I was told she lives here."

"And what do you want Usagi for?" the mother asked. "And I have to say, I loved you in that movie, _The Samurai's Kiss._ You were the best. I can't wait to talk to the other girls at the market, when they find out that _Fujiwara Zakuro_ was at my house! And, oh yes, what do you want, again?"

Zakuro kept smiling. She might have found the woman's nervous babbling grating, but secretly she enjoyed it; she loved being a celebrity, or at least some parts of being a celebrity. "I need to talk to a girl named Tsukino Usagi. Alone." The older woman made no response, and so Zakuro spoke again: "I tell you what - we'll make a deal. I'll give you my autograph, and you tell me if this Usagi girl can be found around here. Deal?"

"Sure," the older woman said, and she ran off to get something for Zakuro to sign. Zakuro waited patiently, and while waiting, she heard footsteps. It was Mrs. Tsukino's son, Shingo, appearing on the stairs. His mouth dropped open even more quickly than his mother's had, and he ran down.

"Wow! Fujiwara Zakuro!" he said too loudly, as he ran up. He gawked at her openly, and stared too long at her breasts. Zakuro just smiled. She was used to such silliness, though this kind of attention never really pleased her. But it was part of being a celebrity, and this boy was too young to try anything.

Just then Tsukino Ikuko appeared, coming out of the kitchen with a large paper. It was a publicity photo of Zakuro, and the star signed it with a flourish. Then the boy, Shingo, said, "Can I have one, too?" Zakuro nodded, but there were no more publicity photos around, and Shingo had to settle for Zakuro signing a photo of herself in a supermarket tabloid. She kept smiling, though this kind of attention was wearing thin.

"Now Tsukino-sama," she said, "Can Tsukino Usagi be found here? I need to talk to her, nothing more."

She had to say no more, for the young boy shouted up the stairs, "Hey, Usagi! Get down here! Hurry!"

The mother rolled her eyes at her son's lack of social graces, but nothing more could be done about that now. And in a very short time another person appeared on the stairs, coming down, her long blonde pigtails preceding the rest of her. It was indeed Tsukino Usagi, but unlike the rest of the family, she did not seem impressed to see the famous idol Zakuro. Instead, she stopped, half-way down the stairs, and asked, "What do you want?"

"Usagi!" her mother barked. "Show proper respect to out guest!"

Zakuro smiled again, but otherwise ignored the mother's discomfort. "Tsukino-sama, I need to talk to your daughter - alone. She is safe with me; you don't have to worry about anything. But I must take her out of this house for a few minutes. I know it is late, but she is no child any more..."

"No child?" Shingo interrupted, rolling his eyes. "She's sixteen going on six, if you take my meaning. She's..."

"Shingo, you little brat! You take that back or..." Usagi screeched.

But her mother said, "Be quiet, both of you! Behave in front of our guest!"

It was all Zakuro could do to refrain from rolling her eyes. But she kept a straight face, and said softly, "Tsukino-sama, may I please speak with your daughter alone for a few minutes?"

Mrs. Tsukino was by this time thoroughly embarrassed, and she forced a smile, and said, "Yes, sure... Usagi, stay out of trouble and hurry back!"

And Usagi finished descending the stairs, slipped her shoes on, and walked through the front door. Zakuro assured her mother once more that the girl was safe, and then left. The two young women walked toward Zakuro's black sports car, but then they turned and walked together down the sidewalk.

As soon as they were out of hearing distance from the house, Usagi asked, "Now, what's this about? Ichigo, again?"

Zakuro looked back, and said, "Your brother's following us. We'll have to use the car to get some privacy." So they doubled back, got in the car, and drove off. And after they turned the corner and disappeared from the house, Zakuro spoke again. "So you don't know what this is about? Humph... I have trouble believing that."

"No, I don't know," Usagi insisted.

Zakuro parked the car and turned to the blonde girl. "Sailor Moon, the war's on again. We were attacked today by the Sailor Senshi, and we think they killed Mew Lettuce."

"No!" Usagi gasped. "I did no such thing!"

Zakuro's dark sapphire eyes stared into the huge blue eyes of Usagi; but Usagi did not turn away. "You were not there," the dark-haired girl said through gritted teeth. "Nor was Sailor Jupiter. I know you two, and I would have noticed you if you were there. Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus led our girls into an ambush. We were attacked by at least four more Senshi - very powerful Senshi. We managed to get away, but Lettuce stayed behind to cover our escape. She never made it back, and later, when we checked, her body was not there. We've heard nothing from anyone since."

Usagi shook her head. "You have to believe me! I knew nothing of this! I wasn't there!"

"And you didn't order it?" Zakuro demanded.

"NO!" Usagi half-shouted. Zakuro held her finger to her lips, and Usagi lowered her voice. "I committed myself to peace with the Mew Mews, and I keep my word - well, most of the time, I do!"

Zakuro kept staring into Usagi's eyes, trying to read the truth in her soul. "If you had nothing to do with this, why were we attacked?"

Usagi now looked down, escaping Zakuro's piercing eyes. "You say that Mars and Venus were there, and four more Senshi. Was one of the Senshi tall, slender, aqua-haired, and very pretty?"

Zakuro whispered, "Yeah. She was there."

Usagi continued, "Was there another one, even a bit taller, with short, blondish hair?"

Zakuro nodded, "Yeah."

"What about one really tall, with very long and thick hair in dark green, and a long staff? And a smaller, very slender one, with black hair and a weapon that sort of looks like a naginata?"

Zakuro kept staring at the blonde girl, who kept refusing her gaze. "The first of those two was certainly there. I don't know about the second."

Usagi nodded. "It's the Senshi of the Outer Planets. The Aqua-haired one is Sailor Neptune, the one with short blond hair is Sailor Uranus, the tall one with the green hair is Sailor Pluto. And if the smaller one with the black hair was there, that's Sailor Saturn. If she wasn't there, count yourself lucky. Her weapon is the Silence Glaive. It always destroys anything she strikes with it - even an entire world. But if she does so, she dies, too, and must be reborn."

"Their power is very great," Zakuro said. "We didn't have a chance against them, and they ambushed us besides. But why did they attack us?"

"I don't know," Usagi said. "They're supposed to serve me - I'm their Princess. On the surface, they do show me respect, though they have a long history of treating the other Senshi with contempt. But I always get the feeling that they look down on me and treat me as a kind of a joke." Usagi was quiet for a few seconds before continuing, "Except for Hotaru, that is, Sailor Saturn, they're all a little older than the rest of us Senshi, and they think they're all so hot and so powerful. And they are really powerful. But why they made war on you - I don't know. Maybe Mars and Venus talked them into it, to get revenge. They never accepted the peace I made with Ichigo..."

"Ichigo is no longer with us," Zakuro interrupted.

"I know that," Usagi responded. "Ichigo told me." She shook her head. "I felt so sorry for her, but there was nothing else I could do. But there's something I have to do, now. When the Outer Senshi made war on you, they broke my word. You can say they made a liar of me. That is treason against the Moon Princess. I'll have to go and see them, and work this thing out."

But Zakuro said, "If they have killed Lettuce, I will not rest until they are dead, or I am. I will never forgive them."

"You said many times that you would not forgive me, yet now you come to me for help," Usagi said.

Zakuro nodded. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do." She looked Usagi in the eyes again. "And where do you find these Outer Senshi?"

"You won't find them in this world," Usagi said. "Setsuna, that is Sailor Pluto, is the guardian of time and space. She will have them hiding up in some little fold of space-time, some alternate dimension. I have a way of reaching them, though. I'll go tomorrow, and I'll see what's up. And I'll see if your friend is alive or dead."

Mew Zakuro was silent for a long time. "I will take you home now. I want your word that whatever you find out, you tell me right away. Here's my personal cell number - guard it with your life." She handed Usagi a card. "But know this. Either you be completely honest with me, or you're a dead woman. I may not have the magic power to bring you down in a fair fight, but there are a lot of ways I could get you. Remember that."

Usagi stared back into Zakuro's eyes. "You grieve over your friend, and you are very strong, Mew Zakuro. But you're no murderer. Maybe you can fool yourself on that, but you cannot fool me."

Zakuro shrugged and started the car, and they drove back to Usagi's home.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was quite late in the morning when Usagi crawled out of bed. She hadn't been able to fall asleep the night before, and it was well towards morning when she finally dozed off. And she always hated getting out of bed, anyway. But she did awaken a bit after ten, and dressed herself before stumbling down the stairs. Her mother was gone; without a doubt she had gone to the local market, where she was boasting of her famous guest of the night before.

Shingo was gone, too; off playing somewhere. There were precious few days left before school began again, and Shingo was making them count. But the house was not empty. Chibi-usa came bounding out of the kitchen, a nasty smile on her face. "Well, sleepyhead, I see you finally dragged yourself out of bed! You should have gotten up earlier. Your mom made a good breakfast for us all - strawberry pancakes! But yours were going to waste, so I ate them all. Of course, you really don't need them anyway, the way you've been packing the weight on..."

Usagi hated the brat's sassy mouth, and especially hated it when she was nagged about her weight. She hadn't gained a pound all summer! She really wanted to give the pink-haired twit a good licking, but she had more important things to do. So she grabbed the girl by her pink hair, and pulled her over her knee. And she barked, quite loudly, "You little brat! I'm going to spank you until..." Then she stopped, and continued in a lower tone, "Listen, Chibi-usa, do you want to get out of the licking you have coming?"

"You won't do it! I'll tell Mamoru! He won't let you..."

_Slap!_ Usagi cracked her daughter a hard one across the butt. "Mamoru isn't here. Now listen, you want to get the full licking or not?"

Chibi-usa was already half in tears. She hated spankings, both because they hurt her butt, and because they hurt her pride. So she whimpered, "What do you want?"

Usagi answered, "I need to talk to the Outer Senshi. I need to see Sailor Pluto. You can get me there."

"If I do, you promise me that you'll never spank me again?" Chibi-usa demanded.

"If you do, I won't spank you - this time. After this, it's up to you. You behave yourself, no spankings. If not..." Usagi responded.

"I won't, you fat old ogre!" Chibi-usa squealed.

_Slap! Slap! _Usagi said no more words, but just started spanking her misbehaving daughter.

Chibi-usa burst fully into tears. "OK, OK, you can go, just stop hitting me!"

Usagi stopped and said, in a very hard tone. "Then call her - now. I must see her now."

Chibi-usa slipped out of Usagi's grip and stood for a second, rubbing her behind. She made no move toward calling on Sailor Pluto, and so Usagi said: "Count of three, sassy daughter. One... Two..." She raised her hand.

"OK, OK," the pink-haired girl whined. And then she said, loudly, "Sailor Pu-u, hear me, and bring me to you!"

At first nothing happened, but then Chibi-usa's form began to shimmer. Usagi took her by the hand, and the two of them disappeared.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

They appeared, hand-in-hand, in a strange place. It somewhat looked like earth, but it clearly wasn't, and not only because the sky was purple. Everything looked slightly askew, as if nothing was straight like it should be. There was a doorway in front of them, standing open, and they approached it. Usagi was afraid; it was all so strange. She knew she must enter that awful doorway.

She paused before the entrance, and touched her brooch. She rose, and spun, and transformed, and settled to the ground. She was not dressed as Sailor Moon, in any of her transformations. Instead, she wore a diaphanous dress of pure white, and a tiara was on her head: she was Princess Serenity, in all of her glory and all of her beauty. But in her hand she held the symbol and tool of her power, the Moon Scepter. She held that in her right hand, and the hand of Chibi-usa in her left. Chibi-usa had no fear, and she pulled her future-mother along into the building - if that was what one may call it.

There stood Sailor Pluto, holding her Garnet Rod, standing beside a ever-falling hourglass that marked the seconds of Time. Meioh Setsuna always looked like what Usagi was supposed to be: tall and slender, regal and beautiful. She looked down at Chibi-usa, and smiled as she said her greeting: "Small Lady."

"Pu-u!" Chibi-usa shouted, and with a smile beaming from her face, she shook free of Usagi's hand and ran to the other woman. Just as she always seemed to treat her own mother with contempt, Chibi-usa always showed complete respect, even deference, to Sailor Pluto. She threw her arms around Setsuna's hips - that is as tall as she was - and hugged her tightly.

"Small Lady, I am so glad to see you again!" Pluto said. Although Usagi was putatively her Princess, she had not yet even acknowledged her presence. It was a deliberate insult, Usagi knew. People like Sailor Pluto made no such breaches of protocol by accident.

In her heart she seethed with anger, but for once Usagi kept her feelings inside. She had things that had to be done, and so she spoke: "Setsuna-san, Sailor Pluto, we must talk. Chibi-usa can leave for a while."

But Pluto said, "She is heir to the throne, to the crown, and to the Scepter. There is nothing you say that she does not have the right to hear."

Usagi's anger began to show, now. "She is a child, Setsuna-san."

But Setsuna replied, "No more than you are, Usagi-sama. Maybe less."

The insults were cruel and calculated, but Usagi controlled herself. Then she heard a door open to her right, she looked, and Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Saturn entered the room. They each looked at Usagi differently: Uranus looked at her with contempt, Neptune looked at her with playfulness, and Saturn simply looked at her, her eyes inscrutable as usual. Yet Usagi knew: they were not here as her friends.

Yet she was Princess Serenity, and she spoke as if they had given her the respect she deserved. "Senshi of the Outer Planets, you have made war upon the those magical girls they call the Mew Mews. You have done this without my consent, which you should have sought, for I am Princess, and you are my Senshi. You knew that I accepted them into my service, and so they came under my protection. Yet you attacked them, and it seems you have killed one of them. In doing this you have made of me a liar. You knew my will was to live in peace with these girls, yet you made war upon them. That is treason against your Princess."

Sailor Pluto's eyes narrowed. "You are such a child, and a foolish child at that, Sailor Moon. There is no way that we could live at peace with those fools. You saw how quickly they resorted to violence each time we encountered them."

Then Sailor Uranus spoke. "There is not enough room in Tokyo, in Japan, in all the world, for their power and yours, Sailor Moon. Do you not find it odd that we have never - ever - encountered magical power of any kind that has not been our enemy? The Dark Kingdom, the Black Moon, the Death Busters, even Sailor Galaxia have all opposed us until we defeated them. And do not forget that even the Moon Kingdom of the Silver Millennium fought against the Earth, and fell. This is why, when you first encountered that ugly freak Mew Ichigo, you immediately fought. Either we rule, or they do. And we must rule, so they must fall." She crossed her arms and was silent, as if she had said all that could be said.

Usagi was far out of her element here. She did not think such deep thoughts, nor worry about such grand concerns. She acted on a much simpler level: when she saw dangers to her world and to her loved ones, she opposed them. And on that level, she did not see the Mew Mews as a danger. People like Mew Ichigo and Mew Zakuro seemed noble and good to her. And she _liked _them. She liked them far more than she liked Sailor Uranus, who had flirted dishonestly with her and manipulated her by pretending to be a boy when they first met. And from what she had learned about Sailor Uranus, she had become quite sure that that woman had desired and intended to go a lot farther down that road than Usagi ever would have, and would have destroyed her relationship with Chiba Mamoru, if she could have.

"If I am wrong, I am wrong," she said. "But I am Princess, and I find no danger in the Mew Mews."

Sailor Pluto shook her head. "None of the ladies of the royal line of the Silver Millennium were geniuses, at least not yet. But most have had more sense than that."

"Then you are all traitors," Usagi said, gritting her teeth.

"No, we are not, Sailor Moon," Setsuna said. "We are bound to serve, first of all, not you, but the reborn Kingdom of the Silver Millennium. You are the one that is rushing toward its destruction. We do not fight you personally, but we must protect the Kingdom from its enemies. And the Mew Mews are its enemies. When that fool Mew Ichigo planted her foot on you, she proclaimed once for all that she was the enemy of all of us. In the foolishness of your overly-good heart, you have forgiven them, and think they are now your friends. They shall never be that! We must fight until they are destroyed, or we are. And be sure, Sailor Moon: it is the Mew Mews that will fall, just as Queen Beryl and all of the rest of them fell."

Usagi stood her ground. "And if I protect them? Will you destroy your own Princess to get to them?"

Sailor Uranus snorted, but Sailor Pluto said, "If you try to protect them, they will turn on you eventually and bring you down. We will not destroy our own Princess, but they will destroy her. Still, in the end, they will fall."

Anger raged in Usagi's simple heart. These women were full-blown traitors against her! Yet, what could she do? She would not fight against her own Senshi. She stood in silence, her slow mind spinning as it tried to grasp what was happening, and to find a way out of this situation before all the Mew Mews died.

Then the silence was broken, and Sailor Saturn spoke. Hotaru seemed to speak very rarely, and spoke quietly when she did say something. But she spoke now. "Princess, the one you were worried about is not dead. She was defeated, of course, and sorely hurt. But she lives as our prisoner."

"Then take me to her," Usagi said. She could not think of any way to counter the arguments of the Senshi, but this was a concrete thing she could do. So they led her through the door, and down what would have been stairs if they had been on the solid earth, and into a dark place.

There, chained to a wall, was Mew Lettuce. Her green clothing was nearly torn from her body, revealing a wondrously curvy figure, though at least all of her private parts were still covered by her under-things. She was dirty and bruised and bloody, and her green hair was stained and torn. The chains that held her to the wall were magical, and glowed. Usagi recognized them as the work of Sailor Venus, though neither Venus nor Mars had made an appearance while she was here. They were probably back on Earth, Usagi thought.

Usagi walked up to the helpless girl. Her breathing was quick and irregular; she was in bad shape. She looked at Usagi with eyes of pure hatred.

Usagi had no idea of what to say, so she simply said the girl's name: "Mew Lettuce?"

And Lettuce took a breath, though it clearly pained her, and spat full in Usagi's face. There was much blood mixed with the spittle. Usagi stared into the girl's eyes, returning hatred for hatred. Then she turned away, and said quietly but firmly, "Maybe, you are right." And she walked away, and back up the stairs.

Then she said, "It is time that I go. Come, Chibi-usa."

But Chibi-usa said, "No! I want to stay with Pu-u for a while." Usagi did not approve, but the others did not seem to care. "Of course you can, Small Lady," Setsuna said, smiling. And she turned and left the room with Chibi-usa in tow, and the other Senshi followed her. Usagi was left alone.

She looked around herself. They might be watching, but she did not care. She closed her eyes, and raised her scepter, and disappeared.

But she did not return to earth. Instead, she reappeared in the dark place, before the chained Mew Lettuce. That place had a magic shield around it, but that shield could not resist the power of Sailor Moon. Again she raised her Moon Scepter, and chanted, _"Moon Healing Escalation!"_And four times she pointed the scepter, and four times one of the magic chains that bound the battered girl broke: first one ankle, then the other, then the left wrist, so that she hung from one arm; and finally, the right wrist. When that chain broke, she collapsed helplessly, but Usagi caught her as she fell, and held her with her left arm while she raised the Scepter one more time. Then the image of the two girls shimmered, and faded, and vanished.

And yet, as everything faded, Usagi saw Sailor Neptune standing there, watching her escape with the prisoner. Neptune had not tried to interfere, and as she faded, Usagi was sure she was smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

Fujiwara Zakuro's eyes narrowed as she spoke. "Tsukino-sama, I must see your daughter right now. I know she's up in her room, and she called for me to come."

Tsukino Ikuko shook her head. "Zakuro-sama, this has me worried. Famous celebrities don't hang around with my lovable but foolish daughter. I'm sure she's in trouble again, and I demand to know what is going on." She crossed her arms and spread her feet, taking a strong stance to bar the door.

Zakuro stared into the older woman's eyes. "Tsukino-sama, if I do not get to go up and see your daughter right now, someone is very likely going to die. And your daughter will be caught up in the middle of it all. You must let me go up there."

But Usagi's mother simply shook her head. "You tell me what's going on, and I will let you see my daughter. Last night I acted foolishly. Under the light of day I will be a bit wiser."

Zakuro's eyes blazed. "Tsukino-sama, come up with me, and you might learn a bit of what your daughter is involved in."

But Ikuko simply set her chin, and said nothing. So Zakuro muttered, "I have no time for this!" She seized her pendant, kissed it, and said in a clear voice, "Mew Mew Zakuro, METAMORPHO-SIS!" And she rose in the air and began spinning, and transformed into the purple-clad wolf-girl that was Mew Zakuro.

Tsukino Ikuko fell backwards, her face drained of color, her mouth hanging open. And Zakuro sped past her and leaped the stairs in a single bound. "Usagi! Which room is yours?" she shouted, and on hearing an answer, she burst in.

Usagi sat on her bed, cradling the battered head of Mew Lettuce on her lap. Lettuce was barely conscious and seemed to be slipping away. When Zakuro saw her, her eyes snapped wide open in fear for her. But quickly the eyes narrowed and filled with anger. Zakuro ran to her and laid her dark-maned head on Lettuce's breast, listening to her heart. Then, while Usagi still held her, she reached into her top and drew out the tiny vial that held her precious Mew Aqua. And as her lips moved in silent prayer, she pressed the vial against Lettuce's heart, and all the room was filled with a soft, warm glow. Lettuce's wounds faded, and her eyes opened. She smiled, and whispered, "Thank you, Zakuro-san."

Usagi smiled as well. Lettuce was officially her enemy now, ever since the Mew Mews had expelled Momomiya Ichigo and with her, the agreement she had made with Sailor Moon. But Lettuce was saved, and that was what mattered. But then Usagi heard a gasp, and looked up. Her mother was standing in the doorway, her eyes and her mouth both wide open.

"Mother..." she began, not knowing what to say. For three years she had been Sailor Moon. For three years she had risked her life repeatedly, fighting the most deadly enemies of the world. And over those three years, she had saved the world five times. Yet she had been able to hide it all from her parents - until now.

Fujiwara Zakuro stood and walked over to the woman in the doorway. "Tsukino-sama, I hope you see now why I had to get up here so quickly."

"What... what are you?" the older woman gasped.

"I'm a Mew Mew," Zakuro said. "And you would do very well to tell no one about it." She smiled. "It would ruin my career."

"And who is she?" Usagi's bewildered mother asked, pointing to Mew Lettuce.

"That's Lettuce," Zakuro said. "Another Mew Mew."

"And how does my daughter fit into all this?" the older woman demanded.

Zakuro looked her squarely in the eyes. "That is something she will have to explain to you herself," she said.

Ikuko was silent for several seconds, trying to take it all in. Then she blurted out, "You have a tail!"

"Do I?" Zakuro said; and she transformed. And the wolf ears and tail were gone. Lettuce transformed as well, and turned to Usagi. She hugged the blonde, and said, "How can I ever thank you? You risked your life to save mine."

Usagi smiled. "What else could I do?" she asked. "What kind of a person would I be, if I had left you to die there?"

"My Princess!" Lettuce said. Then she got up, and Zakuro and Lettuce headed for the door.

Zakuro turned back to Usagi and said, "Meet us at the Cafe Mew Mew in two hours." Usagi nodded, and quickly the Mews bowed to Usagi's mother, and left silently.

Ikuko Tsukino slowly walked into her daughter's room and stood before Usagi, who still sat on the bed. "And you, my daughter," she began, "how do you fit into all of this?"

Usagi looked into her mother's eyes, and said quietly, "Mother, for the last three years, I have been Sailor Moon."

Tsukino Ikuko fainted dead away.

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Supper time had passed, and the last of the customers had left. They had put the "Closed" sign out an hour before, but the customers there had wanted to linger. Apparently they also wanted to hold on to the last few days of summer. But now they were gone, and the Mew Mews all sat in chairs. Ryou and Keiichiro came out from the kitchen, and Ryou said, "Well, we'd better lock the door and talk this out."

"Not yet," Zakuro said. The others wondered at this, but Zakuro could be inscrutable as anyone when she wanted to be, so they waited a few minutes longer. Then the front door opened, and three girls entered: Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Jupiter. They had not transformed, but all the Mew Mews except for Berry knew them well enough. Mew Mint stared at them darkly, while little Pudding reached for her pendant. But Zakuro rose, and said: "Thank you for coming." Then she locked the door.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Mew Berry demanded.

Usagi answered her, "Zakuro invited us. I'm Tsukino Usagi, and these are Mizuno Ami and Kino Makoto. We're better known as Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Jupiter."

The Mew Mews all looked at Zakuro, and Mint's voice hissed as she said, "Did you forget we're at war?"

Zakuro stood before them, looking as regal and powerful as she could, which was very regal and powerful indeed. "Sailor Moon rescued Mew Lettuce for us today. She risked her life to save one of us."

Pudding piped up. "Why do that, if you're our enemy?"

Usagi looked at the young child. "The reason is simple: I'm not your enemy."

"Then why did you make war upon us? Why did you attack us?" Berry demanded.

"We didn't," Usagi said. "The Senshi of the Outer Planets have made this war without my permission. They are in rebellion against me, their Princess. This had never happened ever, over all the long years, that the Sailor Senshi have rebelled against the Moon Princess." Her voice was trembling from the pain and anger she felt.

"Why did they do it?" Ryou demanded. It was a very uncomfortable question, but it had to be asked.

Usagi dropped her eyes and said nothing, so Ami answered for her. "They think Sailor Moon is too much a fool to rule. They are ashamed that we were defeated that first time we fought you girls. They do not accept your surrender to Usagi. They think that they must destroy you, or it is inevitable that you will destroy us."

"We have not the power to destroy you, even if we wanted to," Zakuro said.

Ami answered again, "But your power might grow. You have all had just one transformation, while we have had three. What if you get another, and your power grows? They see you as a threat that must be eliminated."

"They attacked innocent girls who were at peace with you!" Mint's voice hissed.

Sailor Jupiter spoke for the first time. "Innocent? Hardly. There was guilt enough to go around when we fought that first war." She stood up, her green eyes hard. "Do you think I will ever forgive that Mew Ichigo for what she did to my Princess, for the way she hurt her and shamed her?"

And Sailor Mercury added through gritted teeth, "And believe me, I would love to get back at you, Mint, for beating me when I was helpless."

But Sailor Moon said, "Stop, my friends. Stop! That war is over, thanks to Mew Ichigo. But that is not the reason we are here. We have a new war, and we must find a way to end it."

Mew Zakuro looked at Usagi and added, "We have to find a way to end it before we're all dead."

Keiichiro stood, and spoke quietly. "Sailor Moon, why was it risking your life to save Mew Lettuce? They were your own girls that held her. You should have been in no danger."

Usagi looked at the floor. "You don't really believe that they are in rebellion, do you? They refuse my commands. They all but dare me to fight them."

"Then why don't you?" Pudding demanded, her arms crossed.

Usagi walked over to the young girl and looked her in the eyes. "They are my own people! I will not fight them, any more than you would fight your friends here."

Ryou then said, "Is there any way that you could get them to give up their war?"

Usagi shook her head slowly. "If I knew a way, I would try it. But unless you can come up with such a way, I have no idea."

Zakuro said bitterly, "They know they are winning. Why should they give up?"

No one answered the question. So Keiichiro asked, "If Sailor Moon will not join us, is there anyone else that can help?"

"Ichigo!" little Pudding shouted.

But Zakuro said, "We have already decided that one. After the way we expelled her, to our shame, we have no right to ask her. None! Why should that poor girl die with the rest of us? Let her live!"

Zakuro's dark eyes were blazing, and none of the others dared oppose her. So then Keiichiro said, again quietly, "If we cannot get them to make peace, then we have just two options. We fight, or we surrender. Do we fight? Do we have a chance to win?"

"There is always a chance," Zakuro said. "But what chance? You all felt their power. It's so much greater than ours."

"If we fight them, we die," Mint muttered.

"Then can we surrender? Will they accept our surrender?" Zakuro asked. She turned to Sailor Moon and her friends.

"You are a threat to them, and they want that threat removed." Ami said. "They will not trust your surrender. You have already done that, and they came after you anyway."

"Maybe, if we surrender our pendants and all, they won't see us as a threat," Zakuro said, but without much hope.

"If you surrender your pendants, they could slaughter you like sheep," Sailor Jupiter said.

"But you might have a better chance that way," Sailor Mercury said. "Of course, there's the whole matter of your pride, and your honor. You'd live the rest of your lives in shame. But you have at least a chance to live that way. If you fight, you die."

So Ryou said, "Well, I suppose that's it. Girls, we won't make the decision for you. We will vote. Fight, or surrender..."

"NO!" Mew Lettuce shouted wildly. "No surrender! No!"

They all looked at her, their mouths agape. Lettuce was always the kindest and gentlest of the Mew Mews. Now her eyes were wild. "You saw some of what they did to me on the field of battle. What happened after you left was worse. Then after I went down, and they took me back to wherever they stay..." She choked and could not speak. Her eyes were wild, her face flushed.

"What happened, Lettuce?" Ryou asked, approaching the gasping girl. He embraced her and held her until she calmed down enough to speak.

She held tightly to him, and finally spoke, weakly. "They... they..."

"Did they torture you?" Zakuro demanded.

"They... they..." Lettuce shut her eyes very tightly, and finally forced it out. "Yes, they beat on me some. But that was no big deal. But they... they..."

Zakuro took her by the shoulder and shook her. "Did they molest you?"

The now-sobbing Lettuce finally gasped out a word: "Yes."

"All of them?" Zakuro demanded.

Lettuce's voice grew ever weaker. "No. Just the blonde one."

Zakuro's voice rose in wrath. "Did she rape you?"

"No," Lettuce whispered. "She - ah - felt me up, and kissed on me. And said all the things she wanted to do to me, said that I had such a great body, and it would be so much fun for her to... to play with..." Her voice trailed away to nothing.

"Unforgivable!" Zakuro said, her voice as hard as diamond.

Sailor Moon spoke very quietly. "Sailor Uranus - Haruka - she's, uh, sort of, she's _that_ way. She and Michiru, that is Neptune, they have a... a thing going on, you know what I mean. She hit on me quite a bit when I first met her. She pretended to be a guy..."

"Pudding fights!" Pudding suddenly shouted. She wasn't all that sure of what the older girls were talking about, but she knew it must be very, very bad.

Zakuro spoke quietly. "Pudding, if you fight, you will almost certainly die. Then who will care for your little brothers and your sister? Your mother's dead and your father's gone, and you're all the family they have. What will become of them?"

Pudding would not back down. "Their teacher always told me that she would take care of things. She will. But Pudding will not let them get away with - with what they did to Lettuce."

Keiichiro spoke next. "Mint, you have your ballet career, and maybe your father's corporation. Are you ready to give that up? Lettuce, think of your parents. Can you bear knowing the pain they will feel when you do not return? Zakuro, you are the most famous idol in Japan. Your fans will miss you - not to mention us. And Berry - you are a young girl, and your whole life is ahead of you. And your boyfriend, he'll be broken. Are you all ready to give all that up?"

Pudding just set her feet. "Pudding fights!"

But Lettuce said, "No, Pudding, you can't give your life at your age. And the rest of you can't, either. You all go home, and I'll face them myself."

"Nonsense!" Zakuro said. "You all know that ever since there have been people, the young have marched off to war, and so many of them did not come back. And many wept over them, but they did not refuse the call of honor. Lettuce, we will die with you, if we must. At least I will. You will not fall alone. If I let you, I would never forgive myself."

Then Berry said, with a voice touched with sadness: "Then it is settled. We fight."

Just then the lock on the front door exploded. The door flew open, and a single woman stepped in. She was stunningly beautiful: tall and slender, with an ocean of aqua-colored hair and features wondrously fine. She wore a very abbreviated sailor uniform: she was Sailor Senshi. She looked over the people gathered there, her eyes sweeping over the Mew Mews but lingering upon Usagi and the two Senshi with her. The she proclaimed, "Tomorrow, at high noon, we will meet you upon that field in that park, the one with that pond - that field where the weakling Sailor Moon brought such shame to the Sailor Senshi. If you have any honor at all, you will meet us there. If you don't, we'll hunt you down like rats."

But Keiichiro stepped forward, and objected, "That is not a safe place to fight. Many innocents might be in that park, and they might be hurt or killed."

But the girl with the aqua hair said, "Sailor Pluto can isolate that field by a magical barrier, so no one else will be able to get in. In fact, no one else will know what goes on there, until the battle is over." Then, oddly, she smiled, canting her head to the side as she did so.

Sailor Moon now approached the stranger, and spoke: "Sailor Neptune, as your Princess I forbid you to fight these girls."

But the girl with the aqua hair just smiled and said, "Usagi-chan, you rule us no longer. We have found a better ruler." Then she turned and left.

Sailors Mercury and Jupiter each laid a hand on one of Usagi's shoulders to calm her. She was shaking with rage. Then Usagi turned to the Mew Mews, and said, "I have tried, but they will not listen. Yet I will be there tomorrow. I will not fight my own people, but if I can do anything to prevent killing, I will do it." Then she strode out of the cafe through the ruined front door, and her Senshi followed her.

And the Mew Mews looked at each other, and Zakuro said, "Well, I guess this is the end. Let's try to figure out some tactics that might give us a chance."

And outside the door, Sailor Moon stopped, took out her cell phone, and pressed the number that she had most recently added - the number of Momomiya Ichigo.


	5. Chapter 5

The Mew Mews all woke up early; none of them could sleep. They all dressed, and went to their breakfasts, though none of them could eat. Each of them knew: this was the day she would die.

Little Pudding called the teacher who had promised her help, once, so long ago. Could she take care of the kids today? School was not in session, but yes, of course, was the answer. So Pudding brought them over, and hugged each one. She said good-by to each one by name. She had made up her mind that she was going to be strong, but it was useless; she cried over each one: Chincha, Hanacha, Lucha, Honcha, Cheicha. She gave the house keys to Chincha; she did not expect she would need them again. And then she told the teacher: "If I live to see the sunset, I will be back at the end of the day." The teacher questioned this, but Pudding walked away, the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Aizawa Mint sat alone, staring at an old photo of herself and her brother, back when they were young, and there was still joy and light in the world. She did not cry easily, but tears came to her this day. Her parents were gone, of course; they always were. And her brother was in cram school, as always. She walked instead to her old nanny, and said quietly, "Baaya, if I do not return today, tell my parents: the help can have all my stuff. All of it. I won't be needing it any more. But this is for my brother." She gave her the old photo. Then she hugged the old woman, something she never did, and turned away, weeping. "Mint-sama!" the old lady said; but Mint walked out the front door and was gone.

Midorikawa Lettuce hugged both of her parents, and then pressed into her mother's hand a small stuffed toy she had made. "I will love you forever," she blurted out through her tears, and then ran for the door. Her parents called after her, but Lettuce did not turn back. It was too painful, knowing that she would never see them again.

Shirayuki Berry sat alone. She could not face her parents, or her friends. She was so popular that she had never really been alone. But now she realized: everyone was alone when they died. And today she would die. A single tear flowed down her cheek. Then she got up and headed out the door.

And Fujiwara Zakuro knelt alone in an old church, in that place where she always ran at the hard times. And she prayed to the One she believed in and the others did not, that there would be something better waiting for them on the other side of the line. She did not want to cross that line, but she knew that this day, she would. And she prayed that that One would watch over and protect the one who remained: Ichigo. She prayed that Ichigo, at least, could stay out of this, and not die, and live a full and happy life. She forgot to pray for herself before she rose and walked out the door.

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Usagi and her companions slowly wound their way down a shaded path toward that field. The day was dark; slate-gray clouds hung low. The sky more reminded them of the end of autumn than the end of summer, though the harsh winds of autumn were absent. The air was heavy but quite still, with only a small breeze blowing from the northeast. It was an ugly day. It was an ugly day to die.

Ahead of them they could see the trees open up, and the light had become a lighter shade of gray. Then suddenly they hit something: an invisible barrier. They could not pass it. Usagi turned to her friends and shrugged. "What do we do now? It's a quarter to twelve."

Ami said, "Transform." And they did, rising and spinning and changing. Makoto became Sailor Jupiter and Ami became Sailor Mercury. But Usagi kept spinning, and changing, and when she finally settled to the ground, she bore the angel wings of Eternal Sailor Moon, her final and most powerful transformation. And the others understood; this day might mean death for many of their friends, and maybe for themselves. Usagi would not be caught short of power on a day like this.

Transformed, they touched the barrier, and it parted for them. They walked slowly to the edge of the woods, and the field of battle opened up before them. It was gray, like the sky above: an ugly place to die.

Makoto touched Usagi's shoulder, and pointed. To their right, along the edge of the woods, the two men who worked with the Mew Mews stood quietly. They did not have magical power to affect the battle. They had come to see their friends die. Usagi led her friends out of the woods, and they stood and surveyed the field. Usagi bit her lip. It seemed as if they were spectators at a sporting event. But they would see no sport today. They would watch a battle. They would watch people die.

The hour approached noon, and Ami pointed. To their right, near the still, dark waters of the pond, the Mew Mews had appeared. There were five of them; Ichigo was not there. Usagi had called her and told her all about what was happening. But she had secretly hoped that Ichigo would not come. This way, Ichigo might live. And her Senshi - they had turned against her, but she still thought of them as _her_ Senshi - would have an easier time of it. Maybe none of them, or at least fewer of them, would die, if they did not have to face Ichigo's power.

"Ichigo isn't there," Usagi said.

"I never figured her for a yellow streak," Makoto responded.

"Maybe she is here, just hiding and waiting for a chance to attack from the shadows," Ami said.

Then Makoto pointed again. To their left, by the edge of the woods, appeared the Sailor Senshi: six of them. Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars stood with the Outer Senshi. They counted Sailor Uranus, Sailor Pluto, and the glorious Sailor Neptune. And behind them stood the slender form of Sailor Saturn: Tomoe Hotaru with the Silence Glaive that could destroy the entire world.

The field before them was not large: somewhat over a hundred yards separated the two groups of magical girls. It was quite flat, with a gentle slope down from the woods on the left to the pond on the right. Most of it was well mown grass, now quite brown at the end of summer, but looking more like gray than anything under the leaden sky. Here and there was a small bush or newly-planted tree. There was no cover, no place to hide on that field.

Usagi looked down at her watch. It said noon.

To her right, Mew Zakuro advanced slightly and shouted, "Sailor Senshi! Is there any way this can be settled, without fighting?"

There were a few seconds of silence, and then the answer came: Sailor Uranus's voice. "Earth... Shaking!" She slammed her hands down, and a violent spinning projectile raced at the Mew Mews. The battle had begun. It was war to the death.

The Mew Mews scattered. Zakuro and Lettuce came to their left, up toward Usagi and her friends, while Mint and Pudding went right, Mint taking to the air. All four were racing toward their enemies. And so was Mew Berry, who was coming straight up the middle, directly toward Uranus's magical projectile. At the last second Berry launched herself in a high, somersaulting jump, and she cleared the Earth Shaking attack, which exploded behind her. Straight up the middle of the field she came, heading for the Sailor Senshi, her Loveberry Rod held before her.

She was too easy a target. She made no effort to dodge or change course in her frenzy to come to grips with her enemies. Five of the six Senshi let fly against her: "Earth Shaking!" "Deep Submerge!" "Love-me Chain!" "Burning Mandala!" "Death Scream!" Berry tried to leap this attack also, but there were far too many attacks to dodge. All around her the earth exploded in magical blasts, and Berry's body was hurled into the air and backward. The body hit the earth hard and lay there: blasted, broken, and still.

It was clear: the Mew Mews had no power to match the Senshi. But the four remaining Mews kept closing in, sprinting, dodging, falling flat and then rising. Mew Mint came swooping down upon the Senshi, her Mint Echo Arrows striking home repeatedly before she swerved violently away. Mint's attacks did not have great power and the Senshi had defensive shields up, but the attacks stung them and wore them down. One after another the Senshi threw magical attacks at the swift flying girl, and one after another they missed.

And then Lettuce spun, and hurled her Lettuce Rush attack upon the Senshi. It crashed upon Sailor Neptune, and as a water-based attack, it should not have much affected the Senshi of the Sea. But it knocked her down hard, and as she struggled to rise, she heard, to her right: "Ribbon... Zakuro Spear!" And Mew Zakuro's deadly whip wrapped itself tightly around Neptune's throat, and the horrible, burning magical pain ripped through her body. Mint's arrows rained down upon the now-defenseless girl, while the Senshi's spells still missed her. And Lettuce hurled her Rush attacks upon Neptune again and again; and Sailor Neptune fell and lay unmoving upon the ground.

"Michiru!" Sailor Uranus screamed, and she reached down and shook the battered body of her friend and lover; but there was no response. And now insane with anger, Uranus hurled a massive Earth Shaking spell toward Mew Pudding, who was getting close on her left.

But Pudding was quick, and she danced wildly to her left, toward the middle of the field, while Uranus's attack exploded harmlessly behind her. Mint came swooping down again, and her Mint Echo Arrow struck Sailor Mars, and dropped her to one knee. Mint twisted violently and veered off, and again the Senshi's attacks missed her. Zakuro's whip next lashed Sailor Pluto, and then Zakuro, too, twisted away from the counterattacks.

Usagi watched it all in disbelief. The Mew Mews had nothing of the power of the Outer Senshi, but they were winning! Just as she had been in the first fight with Mew Ichigo, they had been overconfident, while their enemies fought with determination and cunning. Sailor Neptune was down, and the other Senshi were hurt, except for Sailor Saturn, who was hanging back as she always did. It looked grim for the Senshi.

But Sailor Pluto understood the ways of war. She saw what was happening, and she shouted: "We have to tie them down. Mars, get out on the right, and go after them. Venus, do the same on the left. Close in with them. Tie them up! Go!" And the two younger Senshi charged out, to close with the Mew Mews. And in doing this, they left behind the protection they received from the others.

Venus ran out. For a few seconds she was out of the line of fire, and she watched their tormentor, Mew Mint, Mint would swoop down, attack, and twist away, fleeing a short distance before turning back to the fray. The Senshi had no attacks that would explode without hitting the ground, and she stayed above those blasts; and so far she had avoided any direct hits. But that could be changed! Venus saw Mint coming her way after yet another stinging attack on the Senshi, and she chanted, "Venus Love-me Chain!" And as Mint made her turn above, the Chain wrapped around her leg. And Venus held her there.

The chain attack ripped into Mint, and she could not escape. Fly and twist as she might, Mint did not have the power to break the chain. She knew: it was over. Yet she did not give up. She drew back her bow and sent one Echo arrow after another into Sailor Venus.

Perhaps the two girls would have destroyed each other, but Sailor Mars came up from the other side of the field, and let fly: "Burning Mandala!" The fiery blast engulfed the trapped Mew Mint, and she fell from the sky and crashed in flames. She would die slowly and painfully, Mars knew. Burning to death was like that.

The battered Venus smiled in triumph, but her triumph lasted only a few seconds. She had taken a lot of damage from Mint, and she was weak and quite defenseless, when the Lettuce Rush and the Zakuro Spear blasted her. Bleeding and smashed, she hit the ground and lay there.

Little Pudding had not accomplished much yet in the battle, except to draw fire away from the others. But she had worked herself quite close to Uranus and Pluto, who refused to move from their position where they could defend the fallen Neptune. Suddenly she spun in the air, and shouted: "Pudding Ring Inferno!" She put everything she had into that shot, and a huge magical pudding engulfed Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, silencing their attacks.

Sailor Mars was trapped now, alone against three opponents. She fought as hard as she could, and she ripped Mew Zakuro with a Burning Mandala. But Zakuro stayed up, and her Zakuro Spear lashed Mars. Lettuce's Rush blasted her, and she went down. And the Zakuro Spear ripped her again there on the ground; and Sailor Mars, Usagi's dear Rei-chan, did not rise.

For a second the wounded Zakuro and the still-healthy Lettuce looked at each other. Could they actually win? Three of the Senshi were down, maybe dead. Two more were locked up in the Pudding Ring. They turned toward their last enemies.

Bit just then Uranus and Pluto burst out of the Pudding Ring, and let fly against Mew Pudding, who was much too close to them. "Death Scream!' "Earth Shaking!" Quick little Pudding tried to dodge, but she was too close and she didn't have the time. A violent magical blast hurled her into the air, and she hit the ground, a broken girl. She tried to rise, tried to fight on, but could not. She lay there twitching feebly.

That was more than Mew Lettuce could take. She ran to the fallen Pudding, picked her up, and tried to carry her away, out of the line of fire. But she could not make it. Once again Pluto and Uranus let fly their deadly magics, and both hit Lettuce, and she and Pudding went flying. They crashed to the ground. Pudding lay still, but a battered and broken Lettuce crawled over to the body and began again to try to drag her friend free of the battle. But she could hardly move herself.

Now only Mew Zakuro stood, and barely at that. She had been badly wounded by Sailor Mars, and had been hit by many other blasts as well. She turned toward the last three standing Senshi. Perhaps she could have escaped; but she made no such effort. Weakly she began limping toward her enemies.

Then Sailor Pluto spoke, in a low voice that somehow carried over the whole battlefield: "Death Scream." And she pointed her Garnet Rod toward the battered, half-helpless Mew Zakuro; and the dark-haired wolf-girl collapsed and lay still.

Sailor Moon stared at the horror of the battlefield. The entire field was scarred and burned from magic blasts. Smoke rose, and everything stank of destruction. Nearly at her feet, Sailor Mars, once her precious friend Rei-chan, lay in a broken heap. She was breathing, but that was about all. On the other side of the field of combat, the blonde form of Sailor Venus twitched feebly. There was blood all over her, and in many ways she looked worse off than Mars. To her left, at the far end of the field, back near the woods, Pluto, Uranus, and Saturn stood guard over the twisted, fallen form of Sailor Neptune. Neptune wasn't moving at all; maybe she was dead.

And all of the Mew Mews were down, for good. The foolish Mew Berry, who had attacked the Outer Senshi head-on, lay blasted in the middle of the field, face-down in the dirt, unmoving: unconscious at least, and probably dead. To Usagi's left, between her and the Outer Senshi, Mew Lettuce was somehow still moving, still trying to crawl and drag Mew Pudding's ruined body from the field. But Lettuce's body was broken as badly as Pudding's, and she could not really move herself anywhere, much less anyone else. Far away, separated from the rest of the fallen, lay Mew Mint, struck down from the sky. And near Sailor Mars lay the body of Mew Zakuro, who had fought so hopelessly, yet so bravely to the end. She had been hit worse than any of the rest of them, and her magnificent body was torn horribly. She lay on her belly, unmoving. The two dark-haired beauties lay so close now: rivals in life, now dying together.

And then Usagi heard a voice, a horrible voice: Sailor Uranus. "Now they pay for what they did to Michiru. They die." And she raised her hand one final time.

And then another voice: "No!"

Usagi looked to her right, and there, near the water, stood the cat-eared girl in pink: Mew Ichigo. So she had been there, all along; she had not fought, because the Mew Mews had told her not to. But it was different, now. She was looking down, and her fists were clenched at her sides. "No!" she said again, and she looked up at the Senshi. "I... won't... let... you. _I won't let you!_" And she began walking toward the Outer Senshi, her Strawberry Bell held before her.

Usagi knew that Ichigo had no chance to win. It was not her fight; she had been cast out of the Mew Mews. And neither the power of her Strawberry Bell, nor the power of her own burning spirit, could overcome the might of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Pluto. And if somehow she could gain an advantage on those two, there was always Hotaru - Sailor Saturn, with her Silence Glaive that could destroy whole worlds. And if necessary, Saturn would destroy Ichigo to protect the others, at the cost of her own life. Ichigo had no chance, but she advanced, her jaw set, her eyes burning with determination. They had rejected her, but she would not let them die, not as long as a single breath remained in her body. She advanced, slowly, steadily, walking forward to die.

And the a man's voice shouted: "Ichigo! Remember this!" It was the blond man, Ryou, and he threw a latched case toward Ichigo. It bounced to her feet, and the cat-girl opened it and removed something. It was some kind of a wand or staff, but whatever it was, it seemed dull and powerless. She stood still for a few seconds, looking at the thing, while all else was silent. Then Sailor Uranus raised her hand, to destroy this one last enemy.

But then, there was another voice, a weak, gasping one: "Ich... i... go..." It was all that a dying girl could get out. Usagi's head turned to the sound, and there was Mew Zakuro with her head turned ever so slightly toward Ichigo, holding up some small thing in the right hand of a clearly broken arm.

And Ichigo turned toward the fallen Zakuro, and while Sailor Uranus finished her chant to cut loose the Earth Shaking spell that would destroy her last enemy, Ichigo held up the rod in her hand, and chanted words in a tongue that Usagi had never heard: _"O Virga Mew Aquae, Luce!" _And a shining something sprung from whatever Mew Zakuro held in her broken hand, and that something shone from the rod in Ichigo's hand, and Ichigo swung the rod before her, in a grand figure-8, and she chanted in a voice that somehow filled that whole awful field: _"Ribbon Aqua Guttae!"_

As an awestruck Usagi watched, open-mouthed, Ichigo began to rise, and she spiraled up toward the heavens. She went sweeping past Usagi, and Usagi saw her face. There was no determination in that face now, no worry, no pain: just pure ecstasy. And Usagi heard something, something she could only call music, as if all of creation was singing in glory, and the music rose, and swelled, and filled all of that field, filled, it seemed, all of the world. And all about them fell the tiny, shining drops... of what? Usagi had no clue. But they touched her with a force of life that she had not imagined even existed.

And before Usagi, the drops touched the fallen Rei, and her wounds disappeared, and suddenly she stood, and looked up in ecstasy herself, her eyes glowing as they had never glowed. And next to her, Mew Zakuro, who had been so near to her last breath, stood as well, a smile beaming on her glorious face. And all over that terrible field of war and death, broken and dying girls stood, and smiled, and looked up to the sky, where the girl in pink sent down the rain of glory.

And even the scarred earth was changed. The bare, burned, torn ground was again covered with the greenest grass, and glittering flowers burst forth everywhere, all reds and yellows and oranges and violets and blues, and they filled the air with their perfume. And up above, the cat-tailed girl soared ever higher, and the drops of glory spread farther and farther. Above her, the sun suddenly burst through the clouds, and shone upon the girl in pink; indeed, shone down upon them all. And then, finally, the girl above stopped her spiral, and hung there in the heavens, her arms outstretched, her toes pointed down, and her eyes closed, while the tiny drops of glory fell all around.

Sailor Pluto and Sailor Uranus saw this. They understood it not at all, but they knew that whatever it was, it was something that was not for them, but for their enemies. And without even a word, they knew what they had to do. They cast the best shield they could, and they cast it with all their strength, to try to protect the fallen Sailor Neptune, for they hoped against hope that, just maybe, she still lived. And their shields were strong, strong enough to deflect even the blasts of a Queen Beryl, or a Sailor Galaxia. But the tiny, glittering drops fell down on them, and the shields disintegrated into nothing, and blew away on the sighing breeze, and the drops fell down all over them, and upon the poor, helpless, torn body of Michiru.

And when those drops fell upon Michiru's body, the wounds and marks faded, and were gone. Then Michiru stood, smiling, and she looked up to the sky, and her face, too, glowed in ecstasy. And she embraced Sailor Uranus, her lover, and whispered in joy, "I am alive! I shall live!" More than any of the rest of them, save maybe Zakuro and Rei, she heard creation singing for joy, a joy beyond any pain she could imagine. She held her friend Haruka tightly, and would not let go.

And then, the music faded, though it did not fail completely. The girl in pink settled gently down to earth just before Sailor Moon, and stood there in the sun among the flowers. Usagi approached her, and asked, "What was that?" But Ichigo only answered cryptically, "It was a wonderful song, was it not?"

Then Usagi saw Rei staring at Zakuro, and the light was gone from Rei's eyes. Would the fighting start again? Usagi ran to her friend, and touched her shoulder. "No, Rei-chan," she said. "You have been given another chance at life. No more fighting. Not with me, not with them." And she embraced Rei, who had hated her for so long; and as she did so, Makoto and Ami came up behind her. And then they entered the embrace, as well. And Usagi said, quietly: "Let's get Mina-chan."

So they crossed the field, where they embraced Sailor Venus. And finally, Usagi knew in her heart that her friends were back together again. Their war, at least, was over.

But another war was not. Mew Ichigo was advancing toward the Outer Senshi, and the other Mew Mews - even Mew Berry - fell in behind her. They had all been healed, and far more than healed. They seemed to glow with power, as if they had all been supercharged. And Usagi and her friends suddenly knew that this time the battle would go differently. The Outer Senshi were overmatched, now, by a Power they could not comprehend. If they fought, they would fall. And then, they would call on Sailor Saturn, and the Silence Glaive. Would she give her life to destroy Ichigo, or could she destroy all of the Mew Mews? Or would she destroy the world and all in it?

Ami shouted, "We've got to stop them!" And Makoto led them, and started running ahead, to get between the Mew Mews and the Outer Senshi. Usagi ran after them, but she could not keep up with Makoto. Still, the Mew Mews advanced slowly, and the Senshi got in front of them, with Sailor Moon arriving last. Then Sailor Moon turned toward Mew Ichigo, and demanded, "Stop."

But Ichigo kept coming, with her companions behind her. Usagi and her friends understood: the Mew Mews had not made this war. The Outer Senshi had made this war, and they had nearly killed all of Ichigo's companions. Yet Usagi had to stop them, so she said, in a pleading voice, "Must it be time for revenge?"

But Mew Zakuro answered, "It is time... for justice." And they marched past Usagi and her friends.

The Outer Senshi saw them coming. They, too, could see the glow of power in their enemies' faces. But they would not back down from those freaks. They had never run from any enemy. Sailor Uranus stepped forward, to attack; but Sailor Neptune seized her arm. "No, my love! No more! No!"

But Haruka angrily shook her friend's hand off her arm. She would never surrender. Never to anyone, and certainly not to those half-animal freaks. She raised her hand, and chanted with all her power, "Earth Shaking!" And she slammed her hands down, and a terrible blast of deadly energy tore the ground, tore apart the new flowers, and tore toward the Mew Mews. But Ichigo raised her Strawberry Bell, and the other Mew Mews lent her their power, and the Earth Shaking spell crashed against the Bell's barrier, and broke, and vanished into nothing. The Mew Mews kept coming, unhurt and not even slowed for a second.

Then Sailor Pluto pointed her Garnet Rod, and said: "Death Scream." But there was no scream, only silence. Here, under the new song of creation, for this short time, Death could not scream. And the Mew Mews drew still closer.

And so in desperation Sailor Pluto called to Sailor Saturn, and said: "It is time, Hotaru. The Silence Glaive. Destroy them, or we all die here."

There was silence. Pluto spoke again, more forcefully. "Now, Hotaru! The Silence Glaive!"

But Sailor Saturn said, quietly, :"I cannot. The Silence Glaive is gone."

They looked at her, and her hands were empty. She looked at her empty hands, and said, with a resigned voice, "When the water drops hit the Glaive, it vanished. Death and silence have no power, while the music lasts."

They were helpless, and their enemies stepped ever closer.

But Sailor Moon would not let her fellow Senshi down. They had rebelled against her, they were traitors, they had plotted her fall. She cared about that, of course, but the Senshi had stood together for far too many lifetimes against far too many enemies for her to allow the Outer Senshi to fall now. With the rest of her friends, she ran forward again, and finally drew even with the Mew Mews.

Then Sailor Jupiter raised her pendant, and began her chant, to attack the Mew Mews. And Mars and Venus followed her and started the same. But Sailor Moon shouted; "Mew Ichigo, stop and face me!"

Surprisingly, Ichigo stopped, and turned toward the blonde girl with the angel wings.

And Sailor Moon spoke, in a loud, clear, voice. "Mew Ichigo! What is your word worth?"

Ichigo answered, "My word? By my honor, it is worth my life."

Sailor Moon stepped up to the pink-clad girl with those terribly-determined eyes. "Mew Ichigo, you pledged yourself and your followers to me. You accepted me as your Princess." The cat-eared girl said nothing, and so the blonde continued, "Now it is time for you to prove your honor. If I am your Princess, then obey this command. Stop here, and I will go to the Outer Senshi, and we will end this, before there is more fighting - before we kill each other."

Mew Ichigo frowned, and began to tremble. Perhaps Usagi's slow mind did not completely grasp what Ichigo was going through, but Ami and Makoto saw it clearly enough: Ichigo was caught between her pride and her honor. Her instinct, when confronted, was to fight; they had all seen this from the beginning. Yet now she had bound herself to the service of Sailor Moon.

Ichigo closed her eyes, and lowered her head. Behind her her friends waited. They all wanted revenge upon the Senshi - revenge and justice; and in this case, those two were the same. Yet they all owed their lives to Ichigo. They had seen her goodness and her greatness, her power and her glory, and they would follow her anywhere now, even through the gates of hell itself, if need be. They waited, while the cat-eared girl in pink struggled to find in her heart the right from the wrong.

Then, as she had before, she knelt before Sailor Moon, and said: "My honor is more than my life. Yet you get just one chance. If the Senshi do not stop the war now, they die." She looked up and stared into Usagi's eyes, and Usagi shuddered in fear. The power and determination that burned in the cat-girl's eyes were almost beyond human.

Then Sailor Moon turned away from the girl in pink, and said to her companions, "Stay here. I must do this alone."

But Sailor Jupiter said, "No, Princess. We are your guardians, and we will go with you. You cannot deny us that."

Sailor Mercury added, "We will never let you fall alone." And the others nodded.

And finally Sailor Mars said, "And besides, if we don't go along, _baka_ Usagi will mess everything up, for sure." And she smiled a wicked little half-smile, and her dark eyes glinted.

Sailor Moon sighed. They were right, she knew; but she didn't want to put them in danger. But what could she do? So she nodded, and said: "No Princess has ever been worthy to be served by such faithful Senshi." And she turned and walked toward the Outer Senshi, and the others followed her.

Sailor Uranus advanced a few steps to meet the Princess and her guards. They were very close now, and a few steps were all that was needed. She stood alone, facing Eternal Sailor Moon and her four guardian Senshi, yet she showed no fear, but only supreme confidence. Thirty feet from her, Sailor Moon stopped, and spoke: "Senshi of the Outer Planets! You have rebelled against me, and have disobeyed my commands. It is time for you to return, to end your rebellion - and to end this war."

Sailor Uranus, tall and slender, looked down on the girl with the angel wings. Her voice reeked with arrogance and disdain. "Sai-lah Moon!" She used the sneering tone of Queen Beryl to say the name, knowing that would wound the heart of the Moon Princess and those Senshi that stood behind her. "Your weakness has ruined the Senshi. In your stupidity you were defeated by a half-animal freak, to our eternal shame. Even now you rely on these freaks to defend your crown, for you have lost your honor and the respect of the true Senshi. You are not worthy of your crown, nor of the Moon Scepter. Yield them up, now, for one who is more worthy to wield them."

But Sailor Mercury spoke: "Sailor Uranus, no matter how powerful you are, no matter how worthy you think you are to wield the Scepter, you cannot. You are not of the royal blood of the Silver Millennium. The Silver Crystal will not resonate with your spirit. You cannot rule in place of Sailor Moon."

"No, I cannot," Uranus responded. "But one far more worthy than that fool you follow certainly can."

"But who?" Sailor Moon demanded. "Who else could become Princess? Only those of royal blood..." Then she stopped, and gasped. Indeed, there was one other that could wield the Scepter and wear the crown.

The Senshi behind her gasped, as well. They, too, realized just whom the proud girl of Uranus was referring to.

But Sailor Jupiter said, "If that other desires the Scepter, she can challenge Usagi for it. For you to do so is treason. You, and Neptune, and Saturn, and Pluto are traitors." She began advancing forward, ready to fight.

But Sailor Moon said, quietly: "No, Mako-chan. It is time to end the fighting." Then she turned back to the proud girl from Uranus. "This war is over. You have failed here. Those freaks, as you call them, now are filled with such power that you cannot fight them and hope to win. Sailor Pluto and even Sailor Saturn are powerless. Because the freaks are bound to me as Princess, they give you the chance to leave and go home in peace, because I have asked them. Leave now, while you can still claim the victory, and boast to all who will listen of the time you stood in triumph over this field, and all of the Mew Mews lay at your feet."

But Sailor Uranus spat upon the ground. "So you will scold me like a child, and have me go home to cry? No, Princess _Baka._ If you think these freaks can stop me in all my power, you are a greater fool than even I imagined. Get out of my way, and I will destroy these our enemies, and restore the honor of the Senshi."

Usagi looked down for several seconds in silence. The time was growing short. Either very soon she would convince the Outer Senshi to withdraw, or the fighting would begin again. And she knew that with the Mew Mews supercharged as they were, this time there would indeed be killing. So then she looked up, and said, "Haruka, my friend, they have healed your beloved Michiru, when she lay on the edge of death. If for no other reason, you should spare them for this."

And Sailor Uranus spoke, one last time: "I care not! For life itself is meaningless, if a weakling like you surrenders our honor to... to things like _them_. Get out of my way, now, or you shall fall with them!" And she raised her hand to call forth the power of the sky.

But Sailor Neptune raced out to her, wrapped her arms around Uranus's waist, and begged: "No! No, my love, I could not bear to see you fall! Let's just go home!"

But Sailor Uranus, far the stronger of the two, ripped the arms from around her waist, and hurled the aqua-haired girl away. "Get out of my way! If you have no honor, just know: _I do!_" Neptune ended up on her knees back near Sailor Pluto, her eyes filled with pain and fear: pain for herself and her now-broken heart, fear for her lover. She rose to run back out to Uranus, but Sailor Pluto took her lightly by the shoulder and said, "No, Michiru." Neptune turned to Pluto with wild anger in her eyes, but Pluto just shook her head slowly.

And then Sailor Uranus called out in a clear, hard voice, "Sailor Moon, get out of my way!"

But the Princess quietly shook her head, and instead raised her Moon Scepter. The girls behind her gasped. Would their Princess fight the mighty Sailor Uranus, one of their own, to protect - to protect those _freaks?_

Finally Uranus spoke, harshly. "You damned fool. If you must be such a fool - _then die_." And she pointed her Space Sword, and chanted, _"Space Sword Blaster!"_And she poured all of her power and pride and anger into a raging river of hate-filled energy.

But while she did so, Sailor Moon spun into the air, and chanted, _"Silver Moon Crystal Eternal Power!"_and she pointed her Scepter, and the searing light that sprang from its Silver Crystal crashed full into the power that Sailor Uranus had hurled. For a few seconds the two streams collided and scintillating, destructive beams flashed from the collision. Then Uranus's power gave way, and the power of Sailor Moon and her Silver Crystal rent the energy blast of her opponent, and crashed with force beyond belief upon Sailor Uranus. And her body was smashed and hurled back to the feet of Outer Senshi, where it lay still.

Then Sailor Moon advanced in silence, and her guardian Senshi followed her. Michiru fell to her knees and embraced the fallen Sailor Uranus; but Pluto and Saturn faced up to Sailor Moon. And the Moon Princess spoke: "Now it is time, my Senshi, to end this. Fall to your knees, and pledge yourselves to me, and I shall let you go home."

Sailor Pluto did not move but said nothing. Sailor Saturn was silent also, but she moved, and took a stance in front of Pluto, to protect her. Seeing this, Sailors Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter crowded up behind Sailor Moon, and mighty Jupiter took a stance in front of her, protecting her princess from any destructive power Saturn still might wield. Not a word was said, and all was silent for several seconds. The Mew Mews came up, too, their eyes still filled with the dazzling power that Mew Ichigo had showered on them. Clearly, the Outer Senshi would not yield to the Moon Princess - and in seconds, the killing would start. And the Outer Senshi had no defense.

And then a piercing scream, devoid of words, rent the silence. It was Sailor Neptune, who was holding the battered form of Uranus. And then she screamed again, this time with words: "She's dead! Haruka is dead! Dead!" The kept screaming, and crying, and gasping, and the tears poured down.

And Mew Ichigo said: "Zakuro."

Mew Zakuro knew what the cat-eared girl meant. But she had no desire whatever to act. This woman had tried to kill them - would have killed them, if Ichigo had not intervened. They had all been smashed, and all of them had been dying in agony. And besides that, she had done horrible things to Mew Lettuce. And now that _baka_ Ichigo wanted her to heal their enemy! Hatred exploded in Zakuro's heart, and she muttered through gritted teeth, "You're kidding me. I'd rather be dead myself than..."

But Ichigo looked at her, and said, "You owe me this one, Zakuro-san."

And Zakuro understood. Ichigo had saved her life, and had healed her as she lay on the edge of death. But still she hesitated. The anger and hatred in her heart held her soul tightly.

So Ichigo asked, "Is the Mew Aqua all used up?"

And Zakuro drew out the tiny vial, and looked; and it shone. "No, Mew Ichigo. When you send down the Aqua Guttae, it gathers to itself. There is more power here than before."

Then Ichigo said, "Then for my sake, heal her. Or hate me as you hate her."

Zakuro started, and her eyes flew wide open. She was not used to seeing such steel in anyone's spirit. But she had seen it before in Ichigo, and she knew: she would not bend. So she stepped forward and laid her head upon the breast of Sailor Uranus, while the sobbing Neptune held her head upon her lap.

Then Zakuro stood, shaking her head. "There is nothing there to heal. Her spirit has fled. She is dead. I have not the power to call back the dead from hell." And she returned to her place beside the other Mew Mews.

Sailor Neptune wailed all the louder, and Ichigo asked one last time: "Are you sure that there is nothing you can do?"

And Zakuro said, quietly, "You wound me deeply, Mew Ichigo. But I do not lie to you. She is dead. I cannot raise the dead." And she lowered her face and closed her eyes.

And then a second wail split the air, one that was even more horrible than Sailor Neptune's. "No! No! Nooooooo!"

It was Sailor Moon. She fell to her knees, and she seized the fallen Sailor Uranus's arm. And she begged her: "No! Don't die! Wake up! Please, wake up! Open your eyes!"

But Sailor Uranus would open her eyes no more. And Sailor Neptune lashed her hand across the Moon Princess's face, and her nails raked that face and tore the skin, and the blood trickled down. "You murderer! You killed her! You killed Haruka! You bastard!" And the distraught Michiru hurled herself upon Usagi, clawing, hitting, choking: no magic now, or thought of magic, just the grief and anger of a heartbroken lover turned to violence.

Sailor Moon hardly protected herself. She was as broken in spirit as was Sailor Neptune, though in a different way, for if Michiru's spirit was broken by grief, Usagi's was broken by guilt. And so Usagi just sat upon the ground, stunned, and indeed Michiru might have torn her to pieces, if Sailor Jupiter had not intervened.

Mighty Makoto would let no one hurt her beloved Princess, and she seized Michiru and hurled her aside. Michiru came back at her, and Makoto's fist knocked her to the ground. Again Michiru, filled now only with mindless rage and grief, again hurled herself upon Sailor Jupiter, and again Jupiter knocked her flat. Yet Michiru stood again, blood dribbling from her mouth and nose, and began to rush the one who stood in her way.

But this time hands took her, and she turned on the one who held her. It was Sailor Saturn, and she just looked into the eyes of Sailor Neptune, and shook her head. Then she embraced the wild-eyed girl with the aqua hair, and suddenly Michiru went limp, and she cried and shook and held on to the slender Hotaru with all of her ebbing strength.

And Usagi sat on the ground as if stunned, her angel wings drooping, and she said quietly, to no one in particular: "They should have let her kill me."


	6. Chapter 6

Sailor Mars now stepped forward. Sailor Moon was completely helpless, sitting on the ground and crying. She could provide no leadership, and leadership was needed. And if Rei did not act, then, she knew, someone else would. And that someone would be Mew Ichigo, or maybe Mew Zakuro. And Rei did not want the Mew Mews to assume leadership now.

She stepped up to Sailor Pluto. "Setsuna-sama, even you now have to admit this is over. Perhaps we were fools to renew the war with the freaks. Perhaps you were fools to try to replace Sailor Moon as Princess. Time will tell. But you need to take care of Michiru, before she does something to herself, or to somebody else."

Sailor Mercury came up behind her. "Go back to your own place. I would guess that there that your powers will return, and you will be safe again."

Rei frowned. Ami always acted like such a know-it-all. What was worse, she was right, as usual.

But Setsuna just crossed her arms and did not move. Her eyes still were filled with disdain as she looked down upon the shorter Senshi, and upon the Mew Mews. Rei and Ami stared at her with troubled eyes. Would there yet be more fighting, more killing?

Mew Lettuce came up. She looked at the body of Sailor Uranus, who had mistreated her, but all her eyes could see was the weeping, heartbroken Sailor Neptune. And she turned to Sailor Pluto, and said, "I will forgive you all that you did, if you forgive us." But Sailor Pluto looked down upon the girl in green with contempt, and said nothing.

And now Mew Ichigo came forward. She walked up to the now-powerless Sailor Pluto and laid her hand on the Garnet Rod. In normal circumstances, the rod would horribly maim anyone but Setsuna who laid hands on it; but now, it was powerless. And she said, "Shall I strike you down, and take this from you, and mount it on the wall at the Cafe Mew Mew as a trophy?"

Sailor Pluto's eyes finally changed. The disdain was gone, replaced now by raging but helpless anger. And then Mew Ichigo said, quietly, "You have chosen war, and have lost. That is what happens when you lose a war. Yet that rod would be the least of the losses. Sailor Uranus is dead. Sailor Neptune is broken by grief. Sailor Moon is broken by guilt. Yet you worry about your rod, and your damned pride." She looked down. "We Mew Mews were fools and fought with Sailor Moon and her Senshi. You despise Sailor Moon, but she proved to be a far better person than you are. She made peace with us, and in the end, could claim the victory. She deserves to reign as the Princess far more than you ever could, or whatever puppet you seek to place on her throne." She looked up again. "If you go home now, you can keep your rod and what is left of your pride. And return to guarding this world and the corridors of time, as you should."

Sailor Pluto said nothing, and Ichigo turned away. Then suddenly Pluto swung the Garnet Rod at the back of Ichigo's head. It had no magic now, but just as a rod, it could maim or kill. But brutally strong hands seized the rod, and it struck no one. "No! No more fighting!" shouted Sailor Jupiter. And unlike Mew Ichigo, she would not let go of the rod.

And finally Mew Zakuro stepped forward and whispered something to Sailor Mars, who nodded. Then to Sailor Pluto the wolf-girl said, quietly, "We will leave first. We will abandon the field. You can claim the victory, if you desire. Mars and the rest of them will make sure that you will go home in peace, and will not take any revenge and harm Sailor Moon. We as the Mew Mews are at peace with Sailor Moon and her people." She looked up to the sky. "The music is fading," she said. "Soon your power will return, I think. Go home. Take care of Sailor Uranus's body, and take care of Sailor Neptune's broken heart."

Sailor Pluto still said nothing, but Sailor Saturn said, "Thank you." Then she bowed her head.

Then Mew Ichigo stepped up to the weeping Sailor Moon, and fell to her knee, and said, softly, "My Princess." Then she turned to go, and this time, one by one, the Mew Mews took their turns kneeling to the Princess Serenity. Finally only Mew Berry had not; she hung back. But Mew Zakuro whispered to her, "If you don't, you're setting us up for another war. Don't give them any excuse to attack again. Sailor Moon took our side, remember? Please, Berry, pride has hurt us too much already."

And indeed Mew Berry knelt before Sailor Moon. Then the Mew Mews turned as group, and marched off the field.

Sailor Moon watched them go, weeping, and she said to no one in particular, "They should not have knelt to me. They should have killed me."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was late in the afternoon when the Sailor Senshi finally got Usagi home. They each hugged her at the door, but nothing seemed to comfort the thoroughly miserable girl. She had done something that she had never done before, what no other Sailor Senshi had ever done - she had killed one of her own Senshi. She thought herself guilty of murder, and no matter how many times the others told her that it was self-defense, and in defense of the others, it did not matter to her. They told her over and over that she hadn't intended to kill, and that if she had held back, Sailor Uranus would have killed her; but that did not matter to her, either. She had killed Tenoh Haruka. Sailor Uranus would reincarnate and be born again; but Tenoh Haruka was gone forever. And nothing would comfort Usagi now.

So she said, "Thank you, my friends. Let me alone, now, please."

She was being too formal; they all noticed that. So Ami said, "You shouldn't be alone, now. At least one of us should stay with you tonight."

But Usagi shook her head. "Girls, tonight I need to cry alone. Please understand that."

Rei objected, "You tried so hard to be my friend, to get me back with the Senshi. Now you need me, and you drive me away."

"Just for one night, Rei-chan," she said, sadly. "Look, my parents will be home, and my brother. I won't really be alone." She looked at all of the Senshi, and said, "My Senshi, if you are my friends, you will go home, and let me alone tonight. If you won't leave, I'll know you don't love me, that we're not really friends."

Makoto said, "But we're worried about you."

But Usagi just shook her head, turned her back, went through the door, and closed it after herself.

And Minako drew out her cell phone, and called Mamoru. "Get over to Usagi's as quickly as you can," she said.

They wanted to wait for Mamoru, but they could hardly sit on Usagi's front step for an hour or more waiting for him, after Usagi had told them to leave. So they slowly walked away. But they hadn't walked a block when Ami said, "I think she's going to hurt herself." They all stopped, and looked at each other, and hurried back.

They didn't even ring the doorbell. Usagi had forgotten to lock the door, and they just walked in. Ami hurried to the kitchen, to inform Mrs. Tsukino that they were there, while the rest rushed up the stairs, Makoto in the lead. She ran to the room she knew was Usagi's, banged on the door, and then leaned on it. If it had been locked, she would have broken it, but it had no lock, and she burst in on Usagi, with the other Senshi piling in behind her.

Usagi looked at them with bloodshot eyes. She was crying again. She was still fully clothed, and apparently had done nothing but sit on the bed. But in her hand was a prescription bottle, and Makoto took it from her. It was for sleeping pills.

Rei seized the bottle from Makoto. She took one look at the label and all but shouted, "Did you take any of these?"

Usagi looked at her and said nothing, but then finally shook her head. She looked stunned, but that was all. Then she spoke, with a weak, tired, and infinitely sad voice, "I told you to let me alone!"

But Makoto said, "You were going to take these, weren't you?" There was no answer, so she shouted, "Weren't you?"

Usagi slowly rose and faced Makoto. "What if I was?" Then she dropped her face and stared at the floor. "I thought of it. But I couldn't do it, at least not yet."

Then Ami and Mrs. Tsukino came in, and Rei showed the bottle to Ami. Ami knew medicine well, and she read the label and said, "If you had gulped these, you'd have fallen asleep and never woken up."

Usagi nodded slowly. "That was the idea," she said.

Tsukino Ikuko pushed through the Senshi and took her daughter by the shoulders. "What's going on here? My daughter, what are you doing?"

But Usagi said nothing, and refused to look into her mother's eyes. So Mrs. Tsukino turned to the Senshi and asked, "What's going on? My daughter's heart seems completely broken. Did she have a falling out with that boyfriend or something?"

The Senshi looked at each other, and at the floor, and anywhere but at Mrs. Tsukino, but they said nothing. So a thoroughly exasperated Tsukino Ikuko blurted out, "Listen, girls, I know about the Sailor Moon thing. You can talk! So, what's going on?"

There was a collective gasp from the Senshi, but they still avoided Usagi's mother's eyes. But finally Ami spoke, "You know then, that your daughter is a magical girl? And the rest of us are magical girls, too?" Mrs. Tsukino nodded, and Ami continued, "And you know that Usagi is our leader, our Princess?" Mrs. Tsukino gave another nod, and Ami then said, "Well, there was a war today, a battle of magical girls. And your daughter killed someone, killed one of her own people, Sailor Uranus, because she wouldn't stop fighting when Usagi ordered her to stop, and instead attacked Usagi. Your daughter fought back, and her power is greater than any other magical girl's, and she blasted Sailor Uranus - and she was dead. She didn't kill her on purpose, but she killed her, and I don't think she can live with herself."

Tsukino Ikuko shook her head in disbelief. "My daughter - a murderer?" She bit her lip hard. "Will the police be coming?"

Ami shook her head. "They took her body away, far from this world. As far as the police know, nothing happened today."

Rei spoke quietly. "Tsukino-sama, the life of a magical girl is mostly one long series of fights. We exist to defend the world from magical threats. Your daughter has destroyed many of them. Some of them are monsters. But some of them are persons. Still, the ones we have fought before have been evil, and while we didn't like fighting them, we understood it had to be done. But we've never before killed one of our own."

Tears began streaming from Ikuko's eyes. She did not know what to say when suddenly the doorbell rang, and they heard the front door open. Makoto hurried to see who it was, and almost collided with Chiba Mamoru as he ascended the stairs two steps at a time. Mamoru pushed past her and charged into Usagi's room where his arms embraced his beloved.

He held her for a long time and let her cry. But finally he asked what had happened, and they told the whole story for him. All through the story Usagi cried and said little.

As they were reaching the end of the story, the doorbell rang again, and again Makoto left to see who might be there. This time they heard loud words from downstairs.

"Get out of here! Stay away from her!"

"I must see her!"

Then there were footsteps on the stairs, and the yet another figure appeared in the bedroom door: Momomiya Ichigo. Makoto was right behind her, and she laid hands on the interloper, but before there was violence, Usagi said, quite firmly: "No, Mako-chan."

Mamoru looked at the red-haired girl and muttered, "I curse the day when the Senshi met you. Nothing has gone right since."

But Ichigo ignored him, and asked, "Is she OK?"

Usagi separated herself from her boyfriend and faced the Mew Mew. "I am not OK. And I will not be so for a long, long time. Maybe never! But that is no fault of yours. I must thank you for healing my Senshi." She bowed to Ichigo.

Ichigo returned the bow, and said, "My Princess, have they gone? Is the war over?"

Usagi shook her head. "They are gone, but the war is not over." The others gasped. Would there have to be more fighting?

Usagi continued sadly, "It's odd. You are all so much wiser than I am, but you're all forgetting something. Sailor Uranus said that there was someone else that could take the throne and the scepter of the Moon. And we all know who that is." Her tears began flowing again. "Mamoru, our daughter is tied up in this. We have to go to Sailor Pluto's little world and get her back. The Outer Senshi were plotting to get rid of me and replace me with Chibi-usa."

"What?" Mrs. Tsukino gasped. "Your... _daughter?_"

For a second Usagi ignored her mother; explaining Chibi-usa would take a long time. Instead she spoke to the rest of them. "You see, it isn't just what happened today that's so bad. I have to face them again tomorrow. I have to face Setsuna, and Michiru. And they both hate me so much..." She shook her head. "What happens if they attack? Will there be more killing tomorrow? I'm sure Michiru wants me dead, probably Setsuna, too."

Minako spoke: "You will not face them alone. We will go with you. I am ashamed for turning my back on you. I owe you this, Usagi-chan. We will all go with you, in case they attack."

"And I will go with you, my love," Mamoru said. "Chibi-usa is my daughter, too."

_"Daughter?"_Mrs. Tsukino gasped again.

They expected Usagi to say no to this, but she did not. She just nodded, and said, "I don't think I could face them alone. And besides, I am not sure I could beat them if they attacked me there, on their own turf."

The others nodded. Then Usagi walked up to Ichigo. "Mew Ichigo, my friend," she said quietly, "Can you bring your girls, too?"

"Why them?" Makoto demanded. "That would just bring more fighting!"

But Usagi said, "I need them to face the fact that the Mew Mews are my people now, and Ichigo is my friend. You might say I want to rub their noses in it. It will anger them, but this will make them face it."

"And if they attack?" Rei asked.

"Then we will defeat them," Usagi said. Then her face fell, and the tears began flowing again.

Once again Mamoru embraced the sobbing Usagi and held her against his heart. And Mew Ichigo took out her cell phone, pressed a button, and then said, "Keiichiro, are they all there yet? Good. keep them there. I'll be there within the hour."

She turned to leave, bowing to Mrs. Tsukino before she left.

And Tsukino Ikuko stared off into space, and mumbled, _"... daughter?"_


	7. Chapter 7

Momomiya Ichigo hesitated outside the door of the Cafe Mew Mew. It had been like a second home for her for so long; now she was afraid to enter. The ones inside had been her best friends for over a year, but now, she was not sure. Still, there was no other way. She wished Aoyama was with her, but he was out of town with the kendo club at some big tournament. Maybe that was good; if he were around, she could not have kept him away from that battle today. It was strange, she thought. Aoyama had been born to protect her; now she wanted to protect him. She sighed, and opened the door.

One by one, the Mew Mews rose, but they did not greet her. They were at least as uncomfortable as she was. But someone had to speak, so it was Zakuro as the elder that stepped forward. "Ichigo, what's this about?"

Ichigo swallowed hard. She didn't belong here, and had no right to ask what she needed to ask. Yet what else could she do? She swallowed again, and said, "I need to ask the Mew Mews to go with me tomorrow. I need to go with the Sailor Senshi to that place where they kept Lettuce. The Outer Senshi are holding Sailor Moon's daughter, and Sailor Moon needs to get her back."

"Why do they need us?" Mint said, with some bitterness. "Isn't Sailor Moon great enough to go do this herself?" Then her voice became very hard and demanding. "And how can a girl the age of Sailor Moon have a daughter? She must have been knocked up awfully young."

Ichigo stepped up to her arch-rival, Mint. "Usagi told me that in the future, she will marry her boyfriend Mamoru-san, and they will have a daughter, Chibi-usa. The daughter has traveled back in time to this time period. Apparently she has done this several times. Sailor Pluto is the Guardian of Time, and it seems she can facilitate time-travel. That's how Usagi can have a daughter aged seven when she's sixteen."

"Let those fool Senshi take care of their own problems," Mint muttered.

The others were silent for several very uncomfortable seconds, until Berry spoke: "It seems as if none of us wants to go. I guess that's it."

But Mew Zakuro said, quietly, "I will go. Ichigo is my leader. I have never met anyone like her in my life, and I am sure I never will again. She needs me, and I will go. And besides, she saved my life today, healed me when I was dying. I will go."

The others remained silent, looking at the floor, at each other, at Ryou and Keiichiro, at anyone and anything except Ichigo. Then Ichigo said bitterly, "So, have you learned your lesson, Zakuro? A month ago you voted to get rid of me."

There was more silence. But then little Pudding blurted out, "What do you mean, voted to get rid of you? Zakuro voted _for_ you. She was the only one!"

"Pudding!" Zakuro hissed. "That vote was private."

Ichigo walked up to Zakuro and touched her cheek. "You mean, for this long month I have nursed anger against your betrayal, and all this time I have been wrong?" Zakuro looked into her eyes but said nothing, and Ichigo turned from her. "But that means that - you, Lettuce, betrayed me? Sweet Lettuce?"

Tears began streaming from Lettuce's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Ichigo-chan! But you did it to me, just like everybody else, you did it to me, and I was wicked besides..."

Ichigo's face softened. "What do you mean, Lettuce? What did I do to you?"

Lettuce began sobbing. "All my life people have used me, taken advantage of me, and then threw me aside when I wasn't needed any more, because I'm such a nerd. I did everything for them, did their homework for them, whatever, and then they left me behind when the homework was done. You see, I didn't count! And then, you did the same thing! You bound me to serve Sailor Moon, and you didn't even ask me, as if what I want doesn't count! As if I'm nothing!"

Ichigo touched Lettuce's cheek and made her raise her face until she looked into Ichigo's eyes. "I am so sorry, dear Lettuce. I just wanted to end the fighting, before there was killing."

"I would have supported you in all of it, if you had just asked me!" Lettuce sobbed.

Ichigo embraced the weeping girl, and then asked, "And what do you mean, you were wicked? You've never been wicked, never."

Lettuce whispered to Ichigo, thinking to keep what she said a secret; but the others heard her. "I was being selfish, too. I was trying to get rid of the competition. With you gone, then maybe Ryou..." Her whisper trailed away.

Ichigo held her tightly now. She knew that Ryou desired her and ignored Lettuce, although Lettuce all but worshipped him. She knew that she herself had felt attraction toward Ryou, but she had never touched him. But what if Aoyama-kun were not there? Ichigo did not know. She hugged Lettuce more tightly; but then Lettuce pushed her away, and said, "Ichigo, you saved my life today, when I was dying. I owe you this. And I owe Sailor Moon my life, too. I will go, my friend."

And then suddenly Pudding all but shouted, "Pudding goes! We'll kick their butts!"

Ichigo shook her head, though she smiled. "Hopefully, there won't be any fighting, Pudding-chan. But thanks."

Then Ichigo turned to the last two Mew Mews, who stood apart, each with her arms crossed beneath her breasts. And Berry said with a very hard voice, "I will _not _go. Let the Senshi fight this out among themselves. I do not serve this Sailor Moon." And Mint turned her head away from Ichigo and stuck her nose in the air, obviously thinking the whole thing was far beneath her - or at least that Ichigo was far beneath her.

But then Zakuro spoke. "Mint, Berry, the rest of us are going. We learned the hard way that it's far the best to follow Ichigo. She's our real leader. She saved us all today. She saved both of you!"

And Berry responded, "I am the leader of the Mew Mews! I will not allow that one to take over! Mew Ichigo, I challenge you to a fight to the finish, to see who leads!"

But Ichigo said, "No. Call me a coward, but I do not fight my own people."

Then she turned to go, but little Pudding ran after her, and grabbed her around the waist, and would not let go. "No! Ichigo, don't go. We need you!"

And Zakuro said, "Berry, my friend, do you really want us to vote? You know the result already. I'm not sure even Mint will vote for you this time."

The fire of anger raged in Berry's eyes. It looked as if there would be a fight, but Mint whispered in her ear. "Don't worry, Berry. That _baka_ Ichigo will mess up soon. She always does. Then we'll make our move, and you'll be leading again."

Then Mint turned to the others and said, "I accept Ichigo - for now. And I will go tomorrow. If I don't, that fool Ichigo might get Zakuro-san hurt."

And Berry nodded her head, but said nothing.

Then the girls left, and Keiichiro said sadly to Ryou, "Trying to get girls to work together keeps proving a lot harder than we thought it would be."

Ryou nodded but said nothing, though he hid a smile from Keiichiro.

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They met the next day at Usagi's house, just before noon. The Mew Mews and the Senshi glared at each other, but Mamoru made sure that he stood between the two sides, lest the fighting begin again. They had to wait for a few minutes; Usagi was late, as usual. But eventually she did descend the stairs.

And Mamoru said, "We all transform here. Then the Senshi will do their Transport thing, and get us all up to wherever the Outer Senshi are. When we get there, we follow this order: Usagi and I will go first, then the rest of the Senshi, and then the Mew Mews. If you Mew Mews get up front, I'm afraid fighting will start." He looked at each of them, and then said, "OK, the Mew Mews transform first."

That got some dark looks from the Senshi; Rei and Minako especially thought that the Mew Mews could attack them, if the Mews transformed and they did not. But Mamoru ignored their dirty looks, and the Mew Mews did transform, and when they all were done, they gathered in a group behind Ichigo.

Than Mamoru said, "Now, the Senshi." And they transformed, except for Usagi, and gathered in their own group on the other side of the crowded room. And then finally Usagi transformed, and took Mamoru with her; and they became the shining Prince and Princess, Endymion and Serenity: Princess Serenity is her white dress and tiara, Prince Endymion in his navy blue, fairy-tale uniform with a sword at his side.

And then Usagi spoke: "My Senshi, gather in our circle, with the others in the middle."

"Hey, wait!" Berry said. Getting themselves surrounded by the Senshi in the middle of a powerful magic spell seemed a very good way to die, if the Senshi betrayed them.

But Ichigo said, "Do it," and she stepped forward; and the others followed her. Ichigo was trusting Sailor Moon and her people with their lives. And it was not as if they were not in danger; at least Rei thought of transporting them all to the sun and letting them burn at a few million degrees. But Rei kept that evil thought to herself. She was no murderer, after all.

Then the Senshi cast their transport spell, and in what seemed like only moments, they reappeared before the twisted doorway that led into the dwelling of Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time. Then they put themselves into the order that Mamoru had asked, and they walked in. Usagi would have hesitated, but there was no hesitation in Mamoru's step, and the rest followed him in.

Sailor Pluto was standing next to the eternal hourglass, just where Usagi had found her the last time. Her eyes narrowed. "Sailor Moon!" she began. "You come here with power, as for war. And you bring those - _creatures_ - with you. Those _things_. They are not welcome in my realm. I do not welcome you. Please leave."

But Usagi said, in as hard a voice as even Setsuna could use, "Those... _things_, as you call them, are my people. And you are in the presence of your Prince and Princess. Kneel, as protocol demands. This is our realm, just as the planets are."

But Setsuna would not kneel, but instead raised her hand and snapped her fingers; and Sailor Neptune and Sailor Saturn appeared, coming through a door on her left. They had clearly been waiting and watching, for they entered immediately upon Setsuna's signal. Sailor Saturn carried the Silence Glaive. It had disappeared the day before, when Mew Ichigo's glorious water drops had healed the wounded and blessed them all. But now it was back, with the power to destroy whole worlds. The two girls stood beside Sailor Pluto.

Mew Ichigo reached out and seized her Strawberry Bell, and the other Mew Mews produced their weapons as well. But they made no move to attack. Like the Senshi in front of them, they waited.

And Sailor Pluto spoke: "Why do you invade my realm?"

Mamoru answered her, "For two reasons. First, you have rebelled against your Princess, Sailor Moon. We seek to bring you back to loyalty."

Sailor Pluto made no answer, but asked, "And what is the second reason?"

It was Usagi who answered. "You have here our daughter, Chibi-usa. We will take her home."

But Pluto said, "You would abuse Small Lady, as you always do."

Mamoru laid his hand on his sword. "She is our daughter. You have no right to keep her. Where is Chibi-usa?"

But Sailor Pluto would not answer. Instead, she gestured, and her two supporters stepped forward.

Tomoe Hotaru, Sailor Saturn, raised the Silence Glaive, and advanced in silence. She bypassed the Prince and Princess, and the Guardian Senshi gave back before her. With a single word from Usagi or Mamoru, they would attack her; but no word came. They parted, and Hotaru passed between them. Then she stood before Mew Ichigo.

She raised the Glaive. But Ichigo did not move.

She pointed it at Ichigo's heart. But Ichigo did not move.

She pressed it against the base of Ichigo's throat. But Ichigo did not move. Instead she just stared into Hotaru's dark eyes.

And then Hotaru lowered her eyes, and bowed, and turned away. She passed back through the Senshi, and stood before Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion. Then she knelt before Usagi, and bowed, and laid the Silence Glaive at her feet.

"You traitor!" hissed Sailor Pluto. "You are bound for eternity to me. As the Senshi of Death and Rebirth, you are bound to the Guardian of Time."

There was silence for several seconds, and then Sailor Saturn's quiet voice spoke. "I am bound even more to the Prince and Princess. I am bound to Sailor Moon as the leader of the Senshi. You, Setsuna, have been faithless toward your Princess. Yet you expect faithfulness toward yourself." She rose, and faced Sailor Pluto. "Yesterday you commanded me to destroy the Mew Mews. You commanded me to kill. I know that is my destiny - to strike and destroy, when the need demands it, at the cost of my own life. When I do, death comes, but rebirth follows."

Her voice rose for the first time. "But always the Senshi of Death and Rebirth has given her life for a cause great and needed - to save the world, or something like that. Never has she given her life to destroy good and noble people, because her sister Senshi were losing a war that should never have been."

She turned her back on Sailor Pluto and faced the others. "I did not see it then, but I see it now. If I had struck down the Mew Mews yesterday, I would have died, and never have been reborn. For such evil, I would have rotted in hell forever. It is only because by some strange grace the Glaive was momentarily taken from me, that I did not do monstrous evil."

Then she bent down, picked up the Silence Glaive, and stood behind Usagi.

Meioh Setsuna did not generally show emotion, except contempt. But now anger raged in her eyes. She reached out and took Sailor Neptune by the shoulder. "They killed Haruka! Do not forget that!"

And Michiru stepped forward, and stood before Sailor Moon. She spoke: "So-called Princess, you killed my friend yesterday. You killed my lover." Her voice kept rising and became more and more strangled with rage. _"You killed Haruka!"_

Then for several seconds nothing was said. Michiru's gasps were loud in the silence, as she stared at her own feet. Then her head jerked up. "But I know that Haruka in her stupid pride tried to slay you and your people, and you only defended yourself. I tried to stop her! I tried! I tried!" She burst into tears, and gasping, knelt before Sailor Moon. "My Princess," she gasped, "forgive my rebellion."

And Sailor Moon reached out, and touched her cheek, and raised her face; and Usagi smiled that glorious Sailor Moon smile that was like no other. And she whispered, though loud enough for the others to hear: "Of course, my friend. All is forgiven."

Michiru stood, and faced Sailor Pluto. "Setsuna-san, that war was so wrong. Haruka wanted to destroy the Mew Mews to salve our pride. She insisted they would destroy us, if we did not destroy them. When she thought that way, she was thinking that the Mew Mews were as blinded by pride as she was. She was wrong. And you, Setsuna, plotted to get Sailor Moon off the throne, so the Small Lady could ascend it. You know you cannot control Usagi, while Usagi's daughter is putty in your hands. You always say that Usagi is too much a fool to rule as Princess. But you are the true fool. You risked all in this rebellion, and you lost. And Haruka died. Died because of your ambition, and her own foolish pride."

Then Kaioh Michiru, Sailor Neptune, took her place beside Sailor Saturn, behind Sailor Moon.

Sailor Pluto's face was red with raging anger, and her knuckles were white as she gripped the Garnet Rod. She stood alone; she had no chance. But in her pride and anger, she raised the rod.

But then Mew Ichigo spoke, loudly and clearly. "Sailor Pluto! Think! You said that Sailor Moon is a fool. You are so right! She is such a fool that she even forgives traitors against her. If you strike her down - I doubt you can, but you might try - all will weep for the loss of such a fool. Do not be a bigger fool that she is! Lower that staff of yours, and bring this Chibi-usa out, and we will go home."

Then Sailor Mercury, Mizuno Ami who understood so much, said quietly, "Sailor Moon has nothing to lose by destroying you. Sailor Pluto will be reincarnated, and will take her place again as Guardian of Time. But you, Meioh Setsuna, will be gone forever. You have everything to lose, while she has nothing to lose. Yet she would forgive you gladly, because, as the cat-girl says, she is a fool. Rejoice that she is a fool, and live."

And Sailor Pluto lowered her Garnet Rod.

Then Mamoru said quietly, "Sailor Neptune, do you know where Small Lady is?" The aqua-haired girl nodded, and left with Sailor Saturn.

When they were gone, Setsuna said, "Sailor Moon. Prince Endymion. Could you allow me enough of my pride to not demand that I kneel to you?"

And Usagi, glorious Princess Serenity, smiled as only she could smile, and said, "Allowing you that little bit of pride is a very small price to pay to get the Senshi back together, and end this awful war." And Setsuna bowed, if only the slightest bit.

Then Mamoru said, "Setsuna-san, we will take our daughter with us. After we leave, you are not to allow her to come to you, until we tell you. It will not be long. You will see her again, and soon. But you must not bring her here, or anywhere else, without our permission."

But Sailor Pluto said, "I fear that foolish, temperamental child who is her mother will abuse her."

Mamoru responded with a smile. "I'll see to it that she doesn't."

Usagi frowned, but then Sailors Saturn and Neptune returned with Chibi-usa in tow. Usagi said, "Come, Chibi-usa. It's time to go home now."

But the pink-haired girl said, "_Baka _Usagi! I don't want to. You'll be mean to me! I want to stay with Pu-u!"

Then Mamoru stepped forward and dropped to his knee, and opened his arms. "Come, my daughter," he said, smiling.

"Mamoru!" the child said, and raced into his arms.

And he said, "My child, Chibi-usa, please: Usagi is your mother, and my future wife, and the woman I love. Please do not speak that way to your mother."

"OK, Mamoru," the child said, as she pressed into his arms. Then she turned her head toward Usagi and stuck her tongue out; but Mamoru did not see that.

Then he picked up the girl, and said, "Hotaru. Michiru. I think it would be wise if you stayed here a while, to take care of Setsuna and her pride. But come to see us as soon as you can."

"That will be very soon," Michiru said.

Then Sailor Moon, followed by the rest of her Senshi, embraced Michiru and Hotaru, and bowed to Setsuna. Then they made ready to leave, but Sailor Neptune said, "Not yet. Please wait." And she and Sailor Saturn approached the Mew Mews. And Michiru asked, "Mew Ichigo, yesterday, those drops - I have lived many lifetimes and have seen many powers. I have never seen anything like that. Never. For a second, all was healed, all wrong was made right, and all creation sang for glory. What power is that?"

But Ichigo answered, "I don't know. It's not really mine."

Michiru then asked , "Does anyone know?"

"I do," said Mew Zakuro. "I do. And I hope, some day, you might, also."

But she would say no more. And Michiru and Hotaru bowed to the Mew Mews, and the Mew Mews returned the honor; and then the Senshi transported them all back home.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_**Epilogue**_

Chibi-usa stood in front of Usagi, her hands on her hips. She stuck her tongue out, and screamed, "_Baka_ Usagi! You're so dumb! I wanna go back by Pu-u! I hate you!" She stuck her tongue out again.

"You little brat!" Usagi began, and she ran after her daughter. But Chibi-usa ran to her father, and leaped into his arms. "Mamoru! Help me! That mean monster Usagi is going to hit me again!"

And Mamoru said, quietly, "Chibi-usa, my daughter, what did I tell you about showing respect to your mother?"

"But she's mean! She hates me!" Chibi-usa wailed.

"Chibi-usa, she loves you with all her heart. And you treat her so badly." The look in his eyes changed, and Chibi-usa, seeing the change, tried to scramble out of his arms; but she could not.

And over his knee she went. _Slap! Slap! Slap!_ He spanked her butt.

"Noooooo!" she wailed. "Stop! I wanna go back by Pu-u! I hate you!"

_Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!_

"Mommy! Help me!" the pink-haired girl screamed. "Help! Child abuse!"

But Usagi just watched. Chibi-usa had it coming.

_Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!_

"Wuaahhhhhhhhh..."

**The End.**

**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
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_**Author's Concluding Note:**_

_If any read this story to the end, they might be offended by my treatment of some of the characters. I will explain three of them._

_Sailor Uranus (Tenoh Haruka): My experience with the Sailor Moon Story is through watching the anime in Japanese while reading English subtitles. In the Japanese anime, Haruka and Michiru clearly have a romantic relationship. I understand that when the anime was dubbed into other languages, the lesbian nature of their relationship was left out. But the Haruka of my story is the one of the Japanese anime._

_In the anime, Haruka pretended to be a guy and hit on Sailor Moon quite hard. She even kissed her once, if I remember correctly. I find this dishonest, manipulative, selfish, and actually mean. Furthermore, she did this pretty much in Michiru's (Sailor Neptune's) face. I find that selfish and arrogant._

_I believe that what she did to Mew Lettuce in my story, and how she died, are consistent with the character as presented in the anime, only I carry her character to extremes that the anime did not._

_In other words, I didn't like the character, and I made her pay the price._

_Chibi-usa: In the anime Chibi-usa (Chibiusa if you prefer) is a brat that repeatedly treats her mother (Usagi) with gross disrespect. I have seen this happen far too often in real life, and I find it very disturbing._

_In other words, I didn't like the character, and I made her pay the price._

_Mew Berry: I never read the manga in which she appears. However, from what little I have read of her, I understand that she is pretty much a perfect "Mary Sue" character - too perfect. From that I assume that she is seen as popular and all that, and so automatically became the leader of the Mew Mews as soon as she appeared._

_But next to Ichigo, she is as nothing. Mew Ichigo is my heroine. So when she enters the scene, Berry automatically ceases to be the star. In my story, Berry can't deal with that._

_The scene where Ichigo uses the Mew Aqua Rod is of course lifted directly from the anime (Episodes 26 and 43, I think). (I believe that in fanfiction, this would be acceptable use of the original.) The "music" they hear is of course Komatsu Rika singing "Glider," just as in the anime. (NOT the song that is sung in the English dub!) That animation sequence (from when Ichigo tells Kisshu "I won't let you!" to when the song ends) in my opinion is the closest thing to fine art I have ever seen in animation. My interpretation of what goes on in that sequence is very odd, but this is my story, so I can tell it as I want._


End file.
